Silicon Physical Design CAD Engineer

Job Title

Silicon Physical Design CAD Engineer

Role Summary

Join Microsoft's SCHIE Methodology, Infrastructure & Labs Engineering (MILE) team to develop, qualify, automate, and support production CAD flows used for silicon physical design for Microsoft custom processors. The role combines physical design knowledge, EDA tool expertise, scripting, and disciplined software practices.

Experience Level

Mid-level - typically 3+ years of relevant hands-on experience in silicon physical design or developing/supporting physical design CAD tools and flows.

Responsibilities

Deliver and maintain robust, automated CAD flows and tools to support physical implementation at scale.

• Develop, maintain, and support physical design CAD flows and methodologies for synthesis, P&R, timing, and sign-off.
• Qualify and validate EDA tool releases, patches, configurations, and methodology changes before production deployment.
• Build and maintain regression frameworks to measure flow stability, runtime, resource usage, and QoR.
• Analyze results to identify timing, power, area, runtime, memory, or other regressions and drive fixes.
• Debug complex issues across EDA tools, scripts, flows, and compute environments.
• Automate repetitive CAD activities and develop scalable utilities using Python, Tcl, Zsh, or similar languages.
• Use Git-based version control and code-review practices to manage flow development and releases.
• Collaborate with physical design engineers, methodology teams, CAD engineers, and EDA vendors to improve productivity.
• Maintain documentation for flow releases, regressions, known issues, and methodology updates.
• Integrate AI techniques to automate tasks and implement AI-based EDA workflows where applicable.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills, experience, and compliance requirements.

• Minimum 3 years of hands-on experience in silicon physical design and/or developing and supporting physical design CAD tools, flows, and methodologies.
• Proficiency in scripting with Python and Tcl (Zsh or similar also acceptable).
• Practical experience using industry-standard EDA tools for synthesis, P&R, timing, implementation, and sign-off (Synopsys, Cadence, etc.).
• Experience qualifying EDA tools and maintaining release processes and regression suites.
• Experience debugging tool/flow/runtime issues and analyzing QoR metrics (timing, power, area, runtime, memory).
• Familiarity with Git-based version control and collaborative code-review practices.
• Ability to work with compute infrastructure that supports large-scale regressions and automation.
• Ability to meet Microsoft security screening and export-control requirements, including verification of citizenship or permanent residency where required.
• Good written and verbal communication skills and ability to document and share results.

Education Requirements

BS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent practical experience is listed as required; MS in a related field is listed as preferred. The posting explicitly allows equivalent practical experience in lieu of degree credentials.

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.