Senior Design Enablement Engineer (PDK)

Job Title

Senior Design Enablement Engineer (PDK)

Role Summary

Member of the Design Enablement team responsible for developing design components for Process Design Kits (PDKs). The role focuses on design rule checking (DRC) development, validation, regression testing and debugging to ensure rule quality and consistency across supported semiconductor technologies.

Experience Level

Senior level. No specific years of experience specified.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include validating and maintaining DRC rules and test flows for PDK development.

• Participate in DRC and DRC QA activities for PDK development.
• Validate DRC rules through layout test structure creation and regression testing.
• Analyze and debug DRC results across basic and advanced rule categories.
• Ensure rule quality, coverage and consistency across supported technologies.
• Collaborate closely with rule developers, QA teams, and other design enablement functions.
• Maintain regression test flows and verification documentation.

Requirements

Core technical skills, verification experience and professional competencies required.

Must-have:

• Practical experience with Design Rule Checking (DRC) and DRC QA.
• Working knowledge of basic DRC rules (geometry, spacing, width, enclosure, connectivity).
• Experience with additional rule categories such as ESD, antenna, latch-up and density rules.
• Experience analyzing DRC results, understanding rule intent and debugging violations.
• Hands-on experience creating and maintaining layout test structures to verify DRC rules.
• Strong technical problem-solving skills.
• Fluent written and verbal English; effective teamwork and interpersonal skills.
• Self-motivated, well organized and attentive to detail.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience in semiconductor and/or EDA industries with a focus on physical verification or DRC QA.
• Knowledge of electronic devices, semiconductor theory and layout-dependent effects.
• Experience working with DRC rule decks, validation and regression testing.
• Experience developing DRC QA test cases and regression flows.
• Experience with CAD systems (Cadence IC / Virtuoso Layout, OrCAD or similar).
• Scripting experience (Perl, Tcl, Bash, Python) and exposure to SKILL is a plus.
• Previous experience with Unix/Linux systems.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Microelectronics, Physics, Computer Science or equivalent, or equivalent practical experience.