Senior Software R&D Engineer, VLSI Physical Design
NVIDIAJob Title
Senior Software R&D Engineer, VLSI Physical Design
Role Summary
Design and implement high-performance software for VLSI physical-design optimization used in advanced GPU and AI hardware. The team develops internal EDA tools that combine parallel computing, machine learning, and specialized algorithms to improve timing, power, and overall PPA.
This is a senior engineering role that spans research, algorithm development, and deployment with design teams; the position supports a hybrid work model.
Experience Level
Senior — typically 6+ years in VLSI algorithms development using C++ (per job posting).
Responsibilities
Primary engineering responsibilities include inventing, implementing, and deploying physical-design optimization engines.
- Invent and implement optimization engines that co-optimize multiple physical-design steps (e.g., legalization, sizing) to improve frequency and reduce power.
- Design and improve C++ algorithms for gate-level sizing, buffering, useful clock skew, cell legalization, power minimization, ECO routing, and incremental parasitic extraction.
- Develop high-performance implementations emphasizing multithreading, efficient memory and I/O, and distributed computing as needed.
- Own the lifecycle from discovery and algorithm design through integration and deployment with design teams.
- Collaborate with domain experts and communicate technical results to cross-functional teams.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience.
- 6+ years of experience developing VLSI algorithms in C++ for physical-design tools.
- Strong understanding of VLSI timing optimization concepts: cell libraries, interconnect models, crosstalk, glitches, IR drop, timing constraints, corners, congestion.
- Familiarity with implementation and signoff tools such as ICC2, Innovus, PrimeTime, Tempus, and StarRC, and typical flows scripted in Perl, Tcl, and Python.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills; ability to work directly with design teams to deploy tools.
Preferred / nice-to-have.
- Experience with C++14+ features (lambdas, concurrency) and high-performance software design.
- Experience fusing multiple physical-design steps into hybrid engines for improved PPA.
- Experience with reinforcement learning, graph neural networks, or other ML techniques applied to physical design.
Education Requirements
BS, MS, or PhD in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience.
About the Company
Company: NVIDIA
Headquarters: Santa Clara, California, USA
NVIDIA is a global leader in accelerated computing, renowned for its innovative solutions in AI and digital twins that transform diverse industries. The company specializes in networking technologies, providing end-to-end InfiniBand and Ethernet solutions for servers and storage that optimize performance and scalability. NVIDIA serves sectors such as high-performance computing, enterprise data centers, and cloud computing, constantly reinventing its products and services to stay ahead in the market.
