Physical Design Engineer (PD Engineer)
QualcommJob Title
Physical Design Engineer (PD Engineer)
Role Summary
Join the Connectivity SoC physical design team responsible for the full physical implementation flow of high-speed, low-power ASICs. The role focuses on delivering tile, subsystem, and SoC-level designs from netlist and timing constraints through final signoff.
Experience Level
Mid-level. The role typically expects industry experience (the posting indicates approximately 2+ years of relevant industry experience).
Responsibilities
Work on physical design tasks across the implementation flow to meet area, performance, and power targets.
- Implement physical design from netlist and constraints to final product signoff.
- Floorplanning of macro cells and floorplan/power planning at tile, subsystem, and SoC levels.
- Place & Route (PNR), routing, timing optimization and timing closure.
- IR drop and power-domain (PDN) analysis; power-aware implementation.
- Implement functional ECOs and timing fixes; manage DFT-related place-and-route constraints.
- Debug and fix physical violations; support formal verification and physical verification flows.
- Develop and use scripts and automation (Python, Perl/Tcl, Linux shell) to support flows.
- Contribute to low-power implementation methods and customized P&R for area reduction.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and proven hands-on experience.
- Industry experience with tiles-level, subsystem-level, or SoC top-level physical design and successful tapeouts.
- Experience with floorplanning and macro placement.
- Experience with Place & Route tools such as Cadence Innovus and/or Synopsys Fusion Compiler.
- Static timing analysis and timing closure experience (Synopsys PTSI preferred).
- Experience implementing functional ECOs.
- Familiarity with formal verification (FV) and physical verification (PV) flows.
- Power domain analysis (IR drop/PDN) experience.
- Scripting and automation skills: Python, Perl/Tcl, and Unix/Linux shell.
Education Requirements
Bachelor's degree in Science, Engineering, or a related field is required.
About the Company
Company: Qualcomm
Headquarters: San Diego, California, United States
Qualcomm is a global leader in semiconductor and telecommunications equipment, specializing in mobile technologies and innovations. Known for its Adreno GPUs, the company provides solutions enabling advancements in mobile gaming, AI, VR/AR, and autonomous driving. Qualcomm's cutting-edge technology and commitment to high-performance, power-efficient designs drive the evolution of mobile graphics and connectivity worldwide.
