Principal Physical Design Engineer
SynopsysJob Title
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Role Summary
Lead applications engineering engagements to enable customer success with Synopsys physical-design solutions across advanced process nodes. Act as a technical liaison between customers and product/R&D teams to solve complex RTL-to-GDS challenges and improve tool flows.
Experience Level
Senior - typically requires 15+ years of hands-on experience in the complete RTL-to-GDS physical design flow and advanced node methodologies.
Responsibilities
Provide technical leadership to customers and internal teams through direct engineering support, tool enablement, and knowledge transfer.
- Work with customers to understand design goals and deliver tailored RTL-to-GDS physical-design solutions.
- Demonstrate and enable Synopsys physical-design tools through workshops, presentations, and hands-on support.
- Diagnose and resolve complex design and tool issues: timing closure, DRC/ECO flows, power optimization, and advanced-node challenges.
- Collaborate with R&D and product engineering to provide field feedback and influence tool improvements.
- Produce technical collateral, best-practice guidance, and training materials.
- Mentor and grow junior application engineers to raise team capability and productivity.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience.
- Extensive practical experience across the full RTL-to-GDS flow: synthesis, design planning, place & route, and timing closure.
- Proficiency with industry EDA tools such as Fusion Compiler, PrimeTime, PrimeClosure, Formality, DSO.ai, FusionAI, ICV, StarRC, and RTLA; familiarity with Innovus, Genus, Tempus, Quantus, Cerebrus is a plus.
- Strong understanding of static timing analysis, power reduction methodologies, ECO procedures, and DRC/LVS issues.
- Experience applying LLMs, GPT models, or other generative-AI techniques to EDA workflows and automation.
- Excellent analytical and debugging skills for complex design and tool problems.
- Effective communicator with customer-facing experience and ability to deliver technical presentations and training.
Education Requirements
Bachelor's and/or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field (as stated).
About the Company
Company: Synopsys
Headquarters: Mountain View, California, USA
Synopsys is a leading company in electronic design automation (EDA) and semiconductor IP solutions. It provides tools and services for designing and verifying complex semiconductor devices and systems. The company plays a pivotal role in the semiconductor industry, helping engineers innovate and deliver higher-quality products faster. Synopsys is committed to advancing technology standards and offers a range of software and hardware solutions to its clients globally.
