Physical Design Engineer, Senior Lead
QualcommJob Title
Physical Design Engineer, Senior Lead
Role Summary
Senior physical design engineer responsible for end-to-end ASIC physical implementation and signoff activities. Works on floorplanning, place-and-route, timing closure, power grid and low-power implementation, and debugging of physical issues.
Works within a global hardware engineering team and collaborates with RTL designers, verification, and signoff teams to deliver production-quality tapeouts.
Experience Level
Senior level. The posting targets experienced candidates; typical guidance indicates 4–10 years of physical design experience and the minimum-qualification matrix specifies degree-dependent experience (see Education Requirements).
Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities include ownership of physical design tasks from netlist to GDS2, implementation of low-power techniques, and ensuring signoff closure.
- Lead floorplanning, placement, clock-tree synthesis (CTS), routing and signoff preparation.
- Drive timing closure (STA) and resolve congestion and CTS issues.
- Implement voltage islands and low-power strategies; perform low-power checks.
- Prepare and execute signoff flows (PV, PDN, FV, CLP, scan/DRC checks) for tapeout.
- Develop and improve place-and-route methodologies and automation flows.
- Collaborate with cross-functional and global teams; communicate status and issues of owned tasks.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and attributes.
- Thorough knowledge of ASIC place-and-route flows and methodology.
- Hands-on experience with full physical design flow from netlist to GDS2, including power-grid (PDN) and signoff checks.
- Experience debugging congestion and clock-tree (CTS) issues and achieving STA closure.
- Practical experience with P&R tools and flows, e.g. Cadence Innovus or Synopsys Fusion Compiler.
- Familiarity with signoff methodologies and tools (power verification, PDN analysis, static timing, functional verification signoff checks).
- Proficient in scripting for automation (TCL, Perl, Python).
- Ability to improve methodologies, work independently, and operate effectively in a global team; clear verbal and written communication skills.
Education Requirements
One of the following is required: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Engineering or related field with 3+ years of hardware engineering experience; OR Master's degree in the same fields with 2+ years of hardware engineering experience; OR PhD in the same fields with 1+ year of hardware engineering experience.
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.
