Senior / Principal Physical Design Engineer

Job Title

Senior / Principal Physical Design Engineer

Role Summary

Join Fractile's physical design team to lead end-to-end implementation of high-performance ASIC/SoC designs targeting advanced nodes. The role focuses on floorplanning, placement, CTS, routing and sign-off while optimising performance, power and area.

Work cross-functionally with RTL, verification, DFT and process engineers; role includes opportunities for full-chip ownership and improving flows with automation and AI tools.

Experience Level

Senior-level role. The posting requests 8+ years of experience in physical design for advanced technology nodes.

Responsibilities

Accountable for physical implementation and sign-off of complex IC designs, collaborating across teams and with foundries.

• Drive floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis, routing and full-chip sign-off.
• Perform synthesis, static timing analysis (STA) and timing closure to meet PPA targets.
• Plan and analyse power (IR drop, electromigration), and implement low-power techniques and multi-power-domain architectures.
• Ensure DRC/LVS and other physical verification compliance and work with sign-off tool flows.
• Integrate DFT structures with physical implementation and support testability goals.
• Develop and maintain flows in EDA tools (place & route, STA, sign-off) and automation scripts.
• Interface with foundries and process engineers to ensure manufacturability and yield optimisation.
• Leverage advanced AI tools and automation to improve productivity and analysis.
• Comply with applicable export-control and eligibility requirements for the role.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience for successful performance in the role.

• 8+ years of hands-on physical design experience on advanced nodes (7nm, 5nm or below).
• Proven proficiency with EDA tools for place & route, STA and sign-off (e.g., Innovus, Fusion Compiler, Calibre).
• Strong understanding of CMOS technology, semiconductor process limitations and manufacturability issues.
• Experience with timing closure, signal integrity and IR drop analysis.
• Experience implementing low-power design methodologies and multi-power-domain architectures.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation (TCL, Python, Perl or equivalent).
• Experience in high-performance computing, AI accelerators or networking chips preferred.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills in a collaborative environment.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's, Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science or a related technical field; equivalent practical experience is acceptable where indicated.

About the Company

Company: Fractile

Headquarters: London, UK

Fractile is on a mission to revolutionize AI by developing silicon, systems, and software that enable the fastest execution of advanced models at lower costs. Established in 2022, the company has rapidly expanded, fostering a collaborative culture in its London and Bristol offices. With a focus on innovation in ML/AI IC product development, Fractile combines hardware and software to deliver high-impact solutions for data center applications.