Principal Design Engineer
Cadence Design SystemsJob Title
Principal Design Engineer
Role Summary
Lead physical implementation and verification of high-capacity Palladium and Protium SOCs, guiding teams from RTL through tape-out. Work within a hardware-assisted verification group focused on SOC bring-up, timing closure, and physical verification.
Experience Level
Senior. See Education Requirements for the posted experience thresholds tied to degree level (examples: BS +7 years, MS +5 years, PhD +1 year).
Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities include implementation, timing closure, verification, and coordinating across design teams.
- Lead a team to implement SOCs or subsystem chips for Palladium/Protium platforms.
- Perform RTL synthesis and floorplanning.
- Build and optimize clock trees; perform timing closure.
- Analyze and close IR drop and complete physical verification up to tape-out.
- Review and document designs for tape-out readiness.
- Interface and coordinate with front-end RTL design teams and back-end verification teams.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and tools; a short list of preferred items is included.
- Must have experience with Cadence tools: Innovus, Tempus, QRC, Voltus, Pegasus.
- Must have experience using Linux servers and scripting (Shell, Perl, Tcl).
- Must have detailed knowledge of industry standard interfaces such as PCI Express, DDR/LPDDR, SRAM, and UCIe.
- Must have hands-on experience with physical design activities: synthesis, floorplanning, clock tree synthesis, timing closure, IR drop analysis, and physical verification.
- Nice-to-have: prior experience with hardware-assisted verification platforms or emulation/prototyping systems.
Education Requirements
BS in Electrical Engineering with a minimum of 7 years' experience, OR MS with a minimum of 5 years' experience, OR PhD with a minimum of 1 year of experience. The posting ties specific minimum years of experience to degree level; equivalent practical experience may be considered.
About the Company
Company: Cadence Design Systems
Headquarters: San Jose, California, USA
Cadence Design Systems is a global electronic design automation company that provides software, hardware, and intellectual property for designing advanced semiconductor chips. With over 25 years in the industry, Cadence is known for its innovative technology solutions and has been recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. The company is dedicated to solving complex technical challenges in order to enable customers to create revolutionary products and experiences.
