Physical Design Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Summary : ForwardEdge ASIC is seeking skilled and detail-oriented Physical Design Engineers to join our talent network. As a Physical Design Engineer, you will play a pivotal role in our semiconductor design team, focusing on the physical implementation of advanced ASIC designs.

You will work closely with architecture, RTL, Logic design, Verification and Test & Validation teams to ensure high-performance, ASIC designs are successfully implemented and delivered to production.

Key Responsibilities :

• Perform floorplanning, power planning, and placement of digital and mixed-signal ASIC designs.
• Implement clock tree synthesis (CTS), route critical nets, and optimize design for timing, area, power, and signal integrity.
• Collaborate with front-end design teams to understand design constraints and ensure seamless handoff for physical implementation.
• Utilize advanced EDA tools and methodologies to achieve design closure within project timelines.
• Conduct physical verification checks (DRC, LVS, ERC) and work closely with sign-off teams to meet tape-out requirements.
• Resolve physical design issues related to timing closure, IR drop, EM / ESD violations, and other design challenges.
• Participate in design reviews and provide design optimization suggestions to enhance ASIC performance and manufacturability.

Qualifications :

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, or a related field with 3-7 years experiences. More experienced candidates will be considered for senior physical design roles.
• Proven experience in ASIC physical design, including floorplanning, placement, CTS, routing, and physical verification.
• Hands-on expertise with EDA tools such as Synopsys ICC / ICC2, Cadence Innovus / EDI, or similar tools.
• Strong understanding of ASIC design flow from RTL to GDSII, including timing closure methodologies.
• Familiarity with scripting languages (Tcl, Perl, Python) for design automation and flow enhancements.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to work effectively in a dynamic team environment.
• Clearance : This position requires a US government security clearance. As such, US citizenship is required.

Nice to Have :

Master’s degree in electrical engineering, or a related field.

Work Environment : The work environment for this role typically involves a combination of office-based activities and collaboration with analog design, CAD, and physical verification teams.

Occasional travel may be required for project meetings or customer engagements.

Benefits :

• Work-life balance : Flexible 9 / 80 Work schedules with every other Friday off, hybrid work with primary location being in St. Paul, MN
• Competitive benefit package : Including options for healthcare and medical coverage, 401K Retirement Benefits with company contribution, as well as a generous holidays and PTO allotment.

Selected candidate may also be eligible for short-term and long-term incentives.

Note : This requisition is designed to cultivate a talent pipeline for both present and future opportunities within our organization.

We are proactively seeking qualified candidates to ensure a continuous flow of talent. Your application will be considered for upcoming positions within our company.