Job Summary
We are seeking an experienced Physical Design Engineer to drive the complete RTL-to-GDSII implementation flow for complex ASIC/SoC designs. The ideal candidate should have strong expertise in block- or chip-level physical design, timing closure, power optimization, and signoff using industry-standard EDA tools on advanced technology nodes.
Key Responsibilities
- Execute the complete Physical Design flow from Netlist to GDSII.
- Perform Floorplanning, Power Planning, Placement, CTS, Routing, and Physical Verification.
- Drive timing closure while meeting PPA (Performance, Power, and Area) targets.
- Perform congestion analysis and optimize placement and routing.
- Analyze and fix setup/hold timing violations across all design corners and modes.
- Perform physical signoff including DRC, LVS, IR Drop, EM, and antenna checks.
- Collaborate with RTL, DFT, STA, and Packaging teams to achieve successful tape-out.
- Debug and resolve implementation issues while ensuring design quality.
- Support ECO implementation and timing closure activities.
- Ensure successful tape-out on advanced technology nodes.
Mandatory Skills (Deal-Breakers)
Candidates must have the following skills:
- 6+ years of hands-on experience in ASIC/SoC Physical Design.
- Strong experience in complete RTL-to-GDSII implementation flow.
- Expertise in:
- Floorplanning
- Power Planning
- Placement & Optimization
- Clock Tree Synthesis (CTS)
- Routing
- Physical Verification
- ECO Implementation
- Strong timing closure experience with setup and hold optimization.
- Hands-on experience with Cadence Innovus.
- Experience using Synopsys ICC2 is an added advantage.
- Strong knowledge of Static Timing Analysis (STA) concepts.
- Experience with IR Drop, EM Analysis, Crosstalk, Noise, and Signal Integrity.
- Hands-on experience with Calibre for DRC/LVS signoff.
- Experience with advanced technology nodes such as 2nm, 3nm, 5nm, 7nm, 12nm, 16nm, and FinFET.
- Good understanding of low-power implementation techniques (UPF/CPF).
- Experience in block-level or chip-level tape-out.
- Strong debugging and problem-solving skills.
Good-to-Have Skills
- Experience with Fusion Compiler implementation flow.
- Hands-on experience with Synopsys PrimeTime and PrimeTime-SI.
- Experience using RedHawk or Voltus for Power Integrity analysis.
- Knowledge of Formality and logical equivalence checking.
- Experience with hierarchical SoC implementation.
- Scripting skills in TCL, Python, or Perl.
- Exposure to multi-voltage and multi-power domain designs.
- Experience with CPU, GPU, AI/ML, Networking, Mobile, Automotive, or High-Performance Computing (HPC) SoCs.
- Familiarity with advanced packaging technologies such as 2.5D/3D ICs.
- Prior customer-facing or offshore/on-site collaboration experience.
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electronics, Electrical Engineering, VLSI, or a related field.
- Excellent analytical, debugging, and communication skills.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced semiconductor development environment.
