Senior Engineer, Digital Design (Physical)

Job Title

Senior Engineer, Digital Design (Physical)

Role Summary

Lead methodology improvements for physical design across complex chip and SoC programs. The role focuses on developing, standardizing, and automating physical implementation flows to improve scalability, reuse, efficiency, and predictability of design closure across teams.

Works with physical design, CAD, STA, DFT, RTL, and project stakeholders to translate program needs into practical methodology changes and to support adoption across projects. May require up to 10% travel; day shift.

Experience Level

Senior — typically 8+ years of relevant experience; mid-to-senior technical leadership and methodology ownership expected.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities focus on methodology leadership, flow enablement, and cross-functional support.

• Drive improvements to physical design methodology, emphasizing flow standardization, reuse, and predictable timing closure across projects.
• Develop, refine, and maintain physical design flows, scripts, and automation to reduce manual effort and improve execution quality.
• Define and document guardrails, recommended methodologies, and repeatable flow practices for program-wide use.
• Analyze QoR (power, performance, area, timing, congestion) to identify methodology gaps and implement durable improvements.
• Partner with physical design, CAD, STA, DFT, RTL, and project teams to translate needs into practical methodology changes and enable adoption.
• Investigate recurring implementation and convergence issues, perform root-cause analysis, and implement corrective actions.
• Provide technical guidance and targeted implementation support to validate methodology changes and troubleshoot critical flow issues.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience; preferred items noted separately.

• Must-have: Strong experience developing and improving physical design flows, automation, and reusable implementation methods.
• Must-have: Solid background in digital physical design fundamentals: floorplanning, placement, CTS, routing, optimization, and timing closure.
• Must-have: Experience with industry-standard physical design and signoff EDA tools for implementation, analysis, and debug.
• Must-have: Strong scripting skills (e.g., Tcl, Python) to automate workflows and scale methodology improvements.
• Must-have: Systematic problem-solving and technical judgment to balance methodology quality, schedule, and constraints.
• Must-have: Effective cross-functional communication with physical design, CAD, verification, and project teams.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with advanced-node or complex SoC implementation environments.
• Nice-to-have: Experience or interest in applying AI-based techniques, automation, or data-driven approaches to engineering workflows.
• Nice-to-have: Experience with Synopsys physical design tools (or comparable Cadence implementation tools).
• Other: Willingness to provide occasional implementation support and on-project debugging as needed.

Education Requirements

Preferred: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field with 8+ years of related experience; or a Master’s degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field with 5+ years of related experience.

About the Company

Company: Analog Devices

Headquarters: Norwood, Massachusetts, USA

Analog Devices is a leading global semiconductor company that bridges the physical and digital worlds, enabling breakthroughs at the Intelligent Edge. With a focus on innovation, ADI develops solutions that drive advancements in digitized factories, mobility, and digital healthcare. The company employs around 24,000 people globally and reported revenues exceeding $9 billion in FY24, creating technologies that transform lives across various sectors.