Silicon Photonics Foundry PDK Design Engineer

Job Title

Silicon Photonics Foundry PDK Design Engineer

Role Summary

Join Intel's Silicon Photonics Process Development and Manufacturing (SPDM) team to develop and maintain PDK infrastructure, EDA tool flows, and automation for electronic-photonic design. The role supports Intel's SiP foundry business by designing, validating, and releasing tools, flows, PDK components, and CI/CD pipelines used by designers and process teams.

Experience Level

Entry-level / Early-career. The minimum required experience is 2+ years in EDA software development focused on physical verification, layout verification, or runset development.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include ownership of PDK components, automation of flows, and collaboration with cross-functional teams.

• Create, modify, document pcell designs and user guides.
• Create, modify, and document design rule and physical verification runsets (DRC/LVS).
• Install, automate, and maintain EDA tool flows and CI/CD pipelines for design environment validation and releases.
• Architect, develop, validate, test, and debug software tools, flows, and PDK components for electronic-photonic design automation.
• Capture user requirements, write functional and test code, and perform unit, integration, and end-to-end testing.
• Plan and maintain computing infrastructure for interactive and batch workloads, storage, licensing, and related services.
• Engage with internal and external partners to define technical requirements and assess feasibility and priorities.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience; preferred items listed separately.

• 2+ years of EDA software development experience focused on physical verification, layout verification, or runset development.
• Experience developing foundry rule decks and DRC/LVS runsets.
• Hands-on experience with industry-standard IC design/verification tools such as Siemens Calibre and Cadence Virtuoso.
• Proficient in high-level programming and scripting (e.g., Python, Perl, Shell, TCL, C++).
• Experience with SKILL scripting, Calibre SVRF/TVF, and Synopsys IC Validator.
• Understanding of analog IC or photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design concepts and flows; familiarity with CMOS/VLSI layout and validation.
• Experience using Unix/Linux operating systems.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills; ability to influence stakeholders and lead cross-functional teams.

Nice-to-have / Preferred:

• Experience with Smart Fill decks, parasitic extraction, Synopsys ICV, Cadence PVS/Pegasus, or Calibre flows.
• Familiarity with Virtuoso Photonic Solutions, Synopsys OptoCompiler, or CurvyCore implementations.
• Experience with multiple foundry technologies, CI/CD pipelines, cloud infrastructure, and test case generation/QA.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Applied Physics, Optical Physics, Optical Communications, Optical Science, or a related field is required. Preferred: MS or Ph.D. (noted as preferred qualifications). Equivalent industry experience, internships, or relevant coursework may satisfy education requirements.

About the Company

Company: Intel Corporation

Headquarters: Santa Clara, California, USA

Intel Corporation is a leading multinational technology company known for its innovative semiconductor solutions, including microprocessors, artificial intelligence accelerators, and memory products. Headquartered in the United States, Intel focuses on cutting-edge technology and a collaborative working environment, driving advancements in semiconductor manufacturing to meet global demands. The company emphasizes professional development and aims to shape the future of technology through groundbreaking designs.