Principal Engineer, SOC PD

Job Title

Principal Engineer, SOC PD

Role Summary

The Principal Engineer, SoC Physical Design (PD) leads end-to-end backend implementation for complex SoCs and mentors a team of RTL-to-GDSII physical design engineers. The role defines technical direction, drives reusable methodologies and tool adoption, and collaborates with cross-functional teams to meet performance, power, area and reliability targets.

Experience Level

Senior — requires substantial industry experience. Posting specifies 8+ years of industry experience, including at least 3 years in technical leadership roles.

Responsibilities

Accountable for architecture and delivery of full-chip physical implementation and for building a high-performing PD organization.

• Lead chip-level partitioning, synthesis, floorplanning, placement, CTS, place-and-route, and timing closure for complex SoCs.
• Oversee power planning, multi-voltage design, IR/EM analysis, reliability sign-off, and physical verification.
• Set technical direction, mentor engineers, and manage team execution and growth.
• Define and deliver PPA targets via scalable methodologies and reuse strategies.
• Collaborate with DFT, packaging, hardware, program management, IP teams, and foundry engineering.
• Champion adoption and rollout of next-generation EDA tools, flows, and methodologies.
• Support Environmental, Health, Safety & Security requirements in day-to-day activities.

Requirements

Key must-have skills and experience; preferred items listed separately.

• 8+ years industry experience with deep hands-on expertise in end-to-end SoC physical design flows (IP integration, IO ring design, floorplanning, data partitioning, MCMM STA, PV, EM/IR, reliability sign-off).
• 3+ years in technical leadership roles managing or mentoring PD engineers.
• Strong proficiency with Synopsys, Cadence, or Siemens/Mentor EDA tools.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills for timing and power closure.
• Proven project management and clear communication skills.

• Exposure to DFT and AMS integration.
• Track record delivering custom silicon across diverse application domains.
• Experience scaling and mentoring high-performance teams and driving best-practice adoption.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field (as stated). No alternative-equivalent-experience language was provided in the posting.

About the Company

Company: GlobalFoundries

Headquarters: Saratoga Springs, New York, USA

GlobalFoundries is a leading contract manufacturer for the global semiconductor industry, with facilities in multiple countries, including the USA. The company develops a broad portfolio of semiconductor technologies and employs around 13,000 people worldwide. GlobalFoundries focuses on enhancing competitiveness in specialized application solutions and fostering innovation in mobile communications, consumer electronics, and automotive applications.