Sr Principal Application Engineer

Job Title

Sr Principal Application Engineer

Role Summary

Senior field application engineer focused on Digital Implementation and Signoff (place & route, timing and power closure). Work directly with customers to deploy and optimize Cadence tools and with R&D to drive product requirements and direction.

Experience Level

Senior — typically 10+ years of industry physical design experience.

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership and hands‑on support for backend digital implementation and signoff engagements.

• Support customers on place & route, design closure, static timing and power signoff to meet PPA and schedule goals.
• Perform technical presentations, product demonstrations, evaluations, and benchmarks.
• Drive technical evaluations to completion and capture lessons learned and best practices.
• Collaborate with R&D to translate customer requirements into product enhancements and influence roadmap.
• Drive adoption of Cadence flows and tools; mentor and guide team members on flow improvements and automation using scripting.

Requirements

Key technical skills and domain experience required; preferred items listed separately.

• 10+ years of industry experience in physical design (backend digital implementation and signoff).
• Strong knowledge of digital design fundamentals, semiconductor fundamentals, and static timing analysis.
• Hands-on experience with backend EDA flows and tools: place & route, IR drop analysis, timing and power closure.
• Experience on advanced process nodes (10nm and below).
• Proficient in scripting (Tcl, Perl, Python) to automate and augment flows.
• Strong customer-facing communication, problem solving, and presentation skills.

Preferred:

• Experience with front-end EDA flows and tools: synthesis, DFT, logical equivalence checking.
• Familiarity with Cadence tools such as Genus, Innovus, Conformal, Tempus, Modus, Voltus, ICC/ICC2, DC, or PrimeTime.
• Experience with the most advanced nodes (5nm and below) is a plus.

Education Requirements

BS in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field is required. MS in a related field is preferred. The posting allows related technical disciplines; no explicit mention of acceptable equivalent-experience language beyond the listed degrees.

About the Company

Company: Cadence Design Systems

Headquarters: San Jose, California, USA

Cadence Design Systems is a global electronic design automation company that provides software, hardware, and intellectual property for designing advanced semiconductor chips. With over 25 years in the industry, Cadence is known for its innovative technology solutions and has been recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For. The company is dedicated to solving complex technical challenges in order to enable customers to create revolutionary products and experiences.