Senior Physical Design Engineer

Job Title

Senior Physical Design Engineer

Role Summary

Lead physical implementation of complex, low-power ASICs. Work with the ASIC design implementation team to deliver floorplanning, synthesis, place-and-route, timing closure, power integrity, and physical verification.

Improve and maintain the digital design flow, resolve tool and flow issues, and coordinate budget, tools, and schedule to meet project milestones.

Experience Level

Senior-level; the posting specifies 5+ years of related industry experience and extensive hands-on VLSI physical design expertise.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include technical leadership, flow development, and cross-functional coordination.

• Architect system-level physical design requirements and define implementation strategy.
• Collaborate with the full ASIC implementation team on synthesis, floorplan, place-and-route, STA, DFT, and sign-off.
• Develop and enhance digital design flows; debug and resolve issues in Cadence Genus, Innovus, and Tempus.
• Plan and justify budgets, tooling, and staffing; champion project needs to meet milestones.
• Perform parasitic extraction, IR drop and electromigration analysis, power analysis, and physical verification.
• Modify RTL (Verilog/VHDL) for timing or power closure as required.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills, compliance, and domain experience.

• US Citizen or US Permanent Resident required; ITAR compliance approval required.
• 5+ years hands-on experience in high-reliability, low-power VLSI design.
• 5+ years practical experience with Cadence Genus, Innovus, and Tempus.
• Strong experience in static timing analysis, floorplanning, place-and-route optimization, parasitic extraction, power analysis, IR drop, electromigration, and physical verification/sign-off.
• Proficiency with scripting/programming: Perl, C, and TCL.
• Skilled with Verilog and VHDL RTL and able to modify RTL for timing and power closure.
• Nice-to-have: knowledge of MIPI, I2S, and CAN protocols.

Education Requirements

BSEE or MSEE in Electrical Engineering (or similar technical degree) preferred; the posting specifies BSEE/MSEE with 5+ years of industry experience.

About the Company

Company: Chelsea Search Group

Chelsea Search Group is a technical recruiting firm that connects engineering and technology professionals with employers, specializing in semiconductor, SoC, embedded systems, and related hardware/software roles.