Synthesis - Lead / Staff Engineer
QualcommJob Title
Synthesis - Lead / Staff Engineer
Role Summary
Responsible for synthesis and low-power implementation bring-up of power-complex SoCs. The role works within the Hardware Engineering / Physical Implementation teams to deliver power-aware synthesis flows, resolve implementation issues, and ensure timing and low-power qualification at SoC and subsystem levels.
Experience Level
Level: Senior. The posting indicates an expectation of experienced candidates (7+ years noted). See Education Requirements for degree-plus-experience alternatives.
Responsibilities
Primary responsibilities include technical implementation, verification, and cross-team collaboration on synthesis and low-power flows.
- Lead synthesis and low-power implementation for multi-voltage, power-complex SoCs.
- Apply physical- and power-aware synthesis techniques; balance power, performance, area, and verification priorities.
- Identify pre-layout timing challenges and provide constraint feedback to design teams.
- Perform pre- and post-layout netlist low-power qualification at flat and subsystem levels.
- Collaborate closely with DFT teams for MBIST and scan insertion support.
- Work with Physical Design to identify and fix low-power implementation issues.
- Develop and maintain automation and analysis scripts (TCL, Perl, Python, shell).
- Mentor junior engineers on timing flows and synthesis methodologies.
Requirements
Must-have technical skills and experience; nice-to-have items listed separately.
- Must-have: Proven experience with physical- and power-aware synthesis and low-power implementation for multi-voltage designs.
- Experience qualifying pre- and post-layout netlists and addressing timing and low-power issues at SoC/subsystem level.
- Strong scripting ability (TCL, Perl, Python, shell) for flow automation and analysis.
- Experience collaborating with Physical Design and DFT teams to resolve implementation and testability issues.
- Practical knowledge of timing closure challenges on advanced process nodes and mitigation approaches.
- Nice-to-have: Experience with design data management tools (Perforce, ClearCase), logical equivalence checking (RTL-to-netlist, netlist-to-netlist), timing derating techniques, and prior mentoring experience.
Education Requirements
Posting specifies degree-plus-experience alternatives: Bachelor's in Computer Science, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Engineering or related field (with 3+ years hardware engineering experience); OR Master's in those fields (with 2+ years experience); OR PhD in those fields (with 1+ year experience). The posting also notes an expectation of 7+ years of experience for this role. No certifications were specified.
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.
