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Physical Design - SOC Top Lead

Efficient Computer
Location
San Francisco, Bay Area OR Pittsburgh, PA OR Austin, TX
Posted
2 months ago
Department
Physical Design
Salary
$180,000 to $260,000
What they actually want (must-haves)
  • Master's degree in Electrical Engineering with 5+ years of industry experience or PhD in Electrical Engineering with 3+ years of industry experience
  • 8-12+ years of physical design experience, with at least 2-3 full tapeouts at the chip-top/SoC integration level
  • Deep hands-on experience with advanced nodes
  • Proven track record owning full-chip timing closure across multiple corners/modes on a complex SoC
  • Strong PDN/IR-drop/EM analysis experience (Voltus or equivalent)
  • Experience with chip-level DFT integration (scan stitching, MBIST, JTAG)
Nice to have
  • Familiarity with package co-design (flip-chip/BGA, C4 bumps, ball map)
  • Experience with non-standard/novel architectures (dataflow, tiled, NoC-based)
  • Knowledge of computer architecture
  • Knowledge of physical design and ASIC implementation
  • Experience in full chip sign off convergence
What the job really is

The Lead Physical Design Engineer will take ownership of the SOC top-level design for next-generation SoCs, managing the full chip integration process from block integration to tapeout-ready GDS. Responsibilities include ensuring timing closure, power planning, physical verification, and coordinating with various teams for DFT and package co-design. This role is hands-on and requires technical leadership to mentor other engineers while navigating a fast-paced environment.

Benefits
  • Competitive base salary ranging from $180,000 to $260,000
  • 10% annual bonus
  • Meaningful equity
  • Comprehensive benefits
  • 401K match
  • Company-paid benefits
Things to weigh
  • No specific mention of remote work options
  • Fast-paced environment may require adaptability to ambiguity
  • Role involves significant ownership, which may not suit everyone
Job score4/5
Benefits5/5
Freshness1/5
Career value4/5
Role clarity5/5
Pay transparency5/5

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