Software R&D Engineer, VLSI Physical Design - New College Grad 2026
NVIDIAJob Title
Software R&D Engineer, VLSI Physical Design - New College Grad 2026
Role Summary
Work on R&D and product-grade software that advances VLSI physical design for next-generation AI hardware. The team develops optimization engines and internal EDA tools that combine algorithmic advances, parallel computing, and machine learning.
The role focuses on algorithm design and high-performance C++ implementation to improve timing, power, and overall PPA across advanced process nodes.
Experience Level
Entry-level / New college graduate (New College Grad 2026). The posting targets recent graduates; equivalent practical experience may be considered.
Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities include inventing and implementing optimization engines and integrating them into design flows.
- Design and implement optimization algorithms (C++) for sizing, buffering, clock tree and legalization.
- Develop and improve engines for ECO routing, incremental parasitic extraction, power minimization, and timing optimization.
- Co-optimize traditionally separate physical-design steps (e.g., legalization + sizing) to improve frequency and reduce power.
- Work directly with design teams to integrate and deploy tools in production flows.
- Profile and optimize software for high performance: multithreading, memory and I/O efficiency, and distributed execution where appropriate.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience required for day-one impact.
- Proven experience with VLSI algorithms development in C++ (production-quality code).
- Solid understanding of VLSI timing concepts and related phenomena such as interconnect, crosstalk, glitches, IR drop, timing corners, and congestion.
- Familiarity with physical-design implementation tools and flows and common scripting languages used to automate flows (Perl, Tcl, Python).
- Ability to design high-performance software (multithreading, efficient memory and I/O patterns).
- Strong problem-solving skills and willingness to collaborate across teams to deploy solutions.
Nice-to-have:
- C++14+ idioms including lambdas and concurrency constructs.
- Experience fusing multiple physical-design steps into hybrid optimization engines.
- Experience with reinforcement learning, GNNs, or other ML techniques applied to physical design.
Education Requirements
Masters or PhD in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science preferred, or equivalent practical experience. (The posting specifically lists Masters or PhD; equivalent experience is acceptable.)
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.
