Senior Staff Engineer - Physical Design (PNR)
QualcommJob Title
Senior Staff Engineer - Physical Design (PNR)
Role Summary
Perform implementation and signoff of PNR (place-and-route) for Qualcomm SoCs. The role owns floorplanning, placement, CTS, post-route tasks and works with cross-functional teams to meet timing, power and manufacturability targets.
This is a hands-on physical design position focused on advanced process nodes and signoff flows.
Experience Level
Senior — typically 12+ years of hardware/physical design experience, with extensive PNR experience on advanced nodes (4nm/5nm/7nm/10nm).
Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities include ownership of physical implementation and signoff activities.
- Own PNR implementation: floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis (CTS), routing and post-route optimization on advanced process nodes.
- Lead signoff activities including static timing analysis (STA), power analysis, formal verification (FV), low-power verification and physical verification.
- Optimize placement/CTS and timing closure to meet performance and power targets.
- Define and manage signoff domains and power/PDN considerations (LEC/CLP/PDN knowledge).
- Develop and maintain automation and scripts in Unix/Linux (Perl, Tcl) to support flows.
- Troubleshoot physical-design issues and collaborate with cross-functional teams to resolve design and signoff problems.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience for the role.
- 12+ years of hardware engineering/physical design experience with extensive PNR flow ownership on advanced nodes (e.g., 4nm/5nm/7nm/10nm).
- Proven experience with floorplanning, placement, CTS, post-route optimization and timing closure.
- Signoff experience: STA, power analysis, formal/low-power verification and physical verification.
- Hands-on Unix/Linux and scripting experience (Perl, Tcl).
- Experience implementing PNR for SoC designs.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills; ability to learn quickly and take ownership of designs.
Education Requirements
Bachelor's, Master's or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Engineering or a related technical field are referenced. The posting allows degree-plus-experience combinations (e.g., Bachelor's + 3+ years; Master's + 2+ years; PhD + 1+ year) and implies equivalent practical experience is acceptable. Specific degree is not required beyond these options.
About the Company
Company: Qualcomm
Headquarters: San Diego, California, United States
Qualcomm is a global leader in semiconductor and telecommunications equipment, specializing in mobile technologies and innovations. Known for its Adreno GPUs, the company provides solutions enabling advancements in mobile gaming, AI, VR/AR, and autonomous driving. Qualcomm's cutting-edge technology and commitment to high-performance, power-efficient designs drive the evolution of mobile graphics and connectivity worldwide.
