Senior Physical Design Engineer

Job Title: Senior Physical Design Engineer

Experience: 4–7 Years

Focus: Block-Level RTL-to-GDSII & PPA Optimization

Location: Bangalore Hybrid

The Role

We are looking for a high-energy, technically curious Physical Design Engineer to join our advanced silicon team. This isn't a role for someone who wants to just "push buttons" on a vendor flow.

We need a driver—someone with 4–6 years of experience who has lived through the trenches of quality tape-outs and is hungry to take full ownership of complex partitions.

You will be expected to work with a high degree of independence, using your analytical skills to bridge the gap between a standard recipe and a world-class PPA result.

You should be comfortable following expert lead direction while maintaining the "question the status-quo" mindset when you see a more efficient path.

Key Responsibilities

• Partition Ownership: Lead the physical implementation of complex blocks from Synthesis and Floor-planning through to CTS, Routing, and Sign-off.
• PPA Recipe Development: Don't just run the flow—optimize it. You will perform deep-dive analysis on timing paths, power profiles, and congestion to derive custom optimization strategies.
• Automation-First Mindset: Use Tcl and Python to automate repetitive tasks, build custom analysis scripts, and enhance the efficiency of the physical design environment.
• Independent Convergence: Take a partition from "dirty" RTL to a clean GDSII, resolving complex DRC/LVS, IR drop, and timing violations with minimal supervision.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with RTL and DFT teams to "left-shift" physical constraints, ensuring the design is optimized for routing and timing from the start.

Technical Requirements

Category

Requirement

Experience

4–7 years in Physical Design with at least 2–3 successful tape-outs.

Tool Mastery

Solid hands-on experience with industry-standard EDA tools (Cadence Innovus/Tempus).

Automation

Proficient in Tcl (for tool control) and Python (for data parsing and flow automation).

PPA Skills

Proven ability to analyse and improve Power, Performance, and Area through floor-planning and placement tuning.

Analysis

Strong debugging skills in STA (Static Timing Analysis), EM/IR, and Physical Verification (DRC/LVS/ERC).

The Ideal Candidate Profile

• High "Workability" Quotient: You are coachable and can execute on complex instructions, but you possess the critical thinking to flag "status quo" processes that are inefficient.
• The "Detective" Mindset: When a tool fails or timing won't close, you don't just restart the run; you dig into the logs and data to find the root cause.
• Driven & Independent: You have a "get it done" attitude and pride yourself on your ability to unblock yourself through research and experimentation.
• Curiosity: Understand the psychology of the tool and drive it as an expert driver.