Sr PD Engineer

Job Title

Senior Physical Design Engineer

Role Summary

Join Qualcomm's Connectivity SoC physical design team responsible for full physical implementation of complex, high-speed, low-power SoCs and subsystems. The role focuses on physical design flow from netlist and constraints to tapeout-quality layouts.

Experience Level

Senior-level engineer. The role expects at least 2+ years of industry ASIC/physical design experience.

Responsibilities

Deliver physical design solutions for tiles, subsystems, and SoC top-levels to meet timing, power, and area targets.

• Perform floorplanning, power planning, place & route, and routing for macro and standard-cell blocks.
• Drive timing optimization and closure; implement timing fixes and functional ECOs.
• Analyze IR drop/PDN and resolve power-domain issues.
• Debug and fix physical verification violations; support formal verification where required.
• Enable low-power implementation methods and customized P&R flows to reduce area, power, and improve performance.
• Develop scripts and automation using Python, Perl/TCL, and Unix/Linux shell.
• Collaborate with design, verification, DFT, and tapeout teams to deliver production-quality designs.

Requirements

Key technical must-haves and practical experience.

• 2+ years industry experience in physical design with successful tapeout involvement at tile, subsystem, or SoC level.
• Hands-on floorplanning experience for macro and standard-cell blocks.
• Place & Route experience with Cadence Innovus and/or Synopsys Fusion Compiler.
• Static timing analysis and timing closure experience (e.g., Synopsys PTSI).
• Experience implementing functional ECOs and timing fixes.
• Formal verification and physical verification (PV) experience.
• Power-domain analysis experience, including IR drop/PDN investigation and mitigation.
• Strong scripting and automation skills (Python, PERL/TCL, Unix/Linux shell).

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Science, Engineering, or a related field with 2+ years of ASIC design/verification/integration experience; OR Master's degree in Science, Engineering, or related field with 1+ year of relevant experience; OR PhD in a related field. (Degrees in electrical/computer engineering, computer science, physics, or similar technical fields are typical.)

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.