Senior Silicon Engineer - Front-End CAD

Job Title

Senior Silicon Engineer - Front-End CAD

Role Summary

Develop, maintain, and support front-end CAD flows, tools, dashboards, and automation used across Microsoft's silicon design ecosystem. The role sits in the SCHIE MILE organization and focuses on enabling scalable, high-quality front-end design methodologies for Microsoft's custom processors.

Experience Level

Senior - at least 6 years of relevant hands-on experience developing/supporting software, automation, or CAD flows.

Responsibilities

Primary duties include building and operating FE CAD flows, tooling, and automation to improve design productivity and flow reliability.

• Develop and maintain front-end CAD flows and methodologies.
• Design, implement, and maintain Python-based CAD software, utilities, and automation following disciplined software-engineering practices.
• Build and maintain dashboards, indicators, and metrics for flow health, quality, runtime, and productivity.
• Develop and operate regression and CI frameworks to evaluate flow stability, runtime, and quality of results; analyze regressions across tool and flow releases.
• Debug complex issues across CAD software, flows, scripts, and compute/cloud environments.
• Automate repetitive CAD activities and develop scalable, system-level utilities and applications.
• Use Git-based version control and code-review practices to manage development and releases.
• Collaborate with design, verification, methodology, CAD engineers, and EDA vendors to collect requirements and improve productivity.
• Maintain documentation for software and flow releases, regression results, known issues, and methodology changes.
• Implement AI-based automation and workflows to improve daily operations.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and constraints; preferred skills listed below.

• Must-have: At least 6 years developing and supporting software, automation, or CAD flows, with strong proficiency in Python.
• Must-have: Hands-on experience with end-to-end, system-level Python development, including testing of complex systems.
• Must-have: Proven debugging skills across tools, flows, scripts, and compute/cloud environments; experience with CI/regression frameworks.
• Must-have: Experience with Git-based version control and code-review practices.
• Must-have: Effective written and verbal communication and demonstrated collaboration skills.
• Must-have: Ability to meet Microsoft Cloud Background Check and export-control screening requirements.
• Nice-to-have: Experience building dashboards, metrics, and reporting/analytics solutions.
• Nice-to-have: Familiarity with front-end design and verification flows and methodologies (RTL, DV, DFT, lint, CDC/RDC, IP integration, release handoff).
• Nice-to-have: Experience with FE CAD infrastructure (build/run/release flows, CI/CD, flow orchestration, design data management) and exposure to cloud/DevOps environments.
• Nice-to-have: Hands-on experience developing AI-based workflows and automation.

Education Requirements

Required: BS (or equivalent practical experience) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field. Preferred: MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science. Equivalent practical experience is explicitly accepted.

About the Company

Company: Microsoft

Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States

Microsoft is a global technology company that develops and sells software, services, devices, and solutions. Known for its Windows operating system, Office suite, and Azure cloud platform, Microsoft aims to empower individuals and organizations around the world to achieve more. The company fosters a culture of innovation and inclusion, focusing on delivering trusted experiences to customers and partners globally.