Senior Physical Design Engineer [05 / 10 / 2025]

Job Summary

Key Responsibilities

 Lead block-level PNR activities from floorplanning through final routing, ensuring robust physical implementation aligned with timing, power, and area goals.

 Drive power grid design and EM / IR-aware routing strategies to ensure block-level power integrity and reliability.

 Collaborate closely with timing closure engineers to resolve physical design bottlenecks impacting timing and signal integrity.

 Manage and optimize physical verification flows including DRC, LVS, antenna checks, and physical signoff.

 Automate PNR flows and develop scripts to improve productivity and design quality.

 Mentor and guide junior physical design engineers, fostering technical growth and best practices.

 Coordinate with cross-functional teams including RTL design, STA, verification, and backend

integration to ensure seamless block-to-chip integration.

Qualifications and Skills

8+ years of experience in physical design with a strong focus on block-level Place and Route (PNR) for complex SoC / IP subsystems, preferably at advanced technology nodes (16nm, 7nm, 5nm, or below).

 Proven expertise in block-level physical implementation including floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis (CTS), routing, and physical verification (DRC / LVS).

 Hands-on experience with industry-standard PNR tools such as Cadence Innovus, Synopsys ICC2, and Mentor Calibre.

 Strong understanding of power grid design, EM / IR analysis, signal integrity (SI), and reliability checks at the block level.

 Experience in managing timing closure in coordination with STA teams, resolving congestion, and optimizing for power, performance, and area (PPA).

 Proficiency in scripting languages (Tcl, Python, Perl) for flow automation and custom tool development.

 Demonstrated ability to lead block PNR efforts, coordinate with RTL designers, physical design teams, and verification groups to meet aggressive tapeout schedules.

 Familiarity with low-power design techniques and power-

aware physical implementation.