Staff Engineer, Physical Design
TenstorrentJob Title
Staff Engineer, Physical Design
Role Summary
Lead physical implementation of high-performance CPU and AI/ML blocks, owning the flow from synthesis through signoff and tapeout. Work on advanced-node SOC designs to meet aggressive performance, power, and area goals.
The role is hybrid and based out of Santa Clara, CA (also hiring in Austin, TX and Fort Collins, CO); you will collaborate with RTL, architecture, IP, verification, and tooling teams.
Experience Level
Senior (Staff-level). Exact level and offer will be determined in interview; years of experience not explicitly specified.
Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities include:
- Own physical implementation flow for assigned blocks from synthesis through tapeout and signoff.
- Implement and optimize for performance, power, and area (PPA) across advanced process nodes.
- Collaborate with RTL designers, architects, and IP teams to drive physical requirements and resolve design issues.
- Perform timing closure, ECOs, floorplanning, placement, routing, and physical verification coordination.
- Debug cross-hierarchy issues (timing, power, signal integrity) and lead resolution to tapeout readiness.
- Develop and improve flows, scripts, and automation to increase team productivity and design quality.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience:
- Proven experience with synthesis, place-and-route, timing closure, and successful tapeouts on SOC/ASIC projects.
- Experience with industry tools such as Innovus, PrimeTime, and RedHawk.
- Proficient scripting skills (Tcl, Perl, Python) for flow automation and debug.
- Knowledge of advanced node challenges and low-power techniques (power gating, multi-Vt, voltage scaling).
- Experience driving physical design requirements from early architecture stages through final signoff.
Nice-to-have:
- Experience with AI accelerator or high-performance CPU implementations.
- Experience with chiplet architectures and multi-die integration.
Education Requirements
BS, MS, or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science (as listed in the posting).
About the Company
Company: Tenstorrent
Headquarters: Austin, Texas, United States
Tenstorrent is a technology company focused on designing innovative computing solutions. They are known for their expertise in the development of advanced hardware, including ASICs and SoCs, aimed at enhancing performance and efficiency in various applications.
