Qualcomm
HW SOC/ASIC Physical Design Engineer, Staff/Sr Staff (US Citizenship Required)
Qualcomm, Boulder, Colorado, United States, 80301
HW SOC/ASIC Physical Design Engineer, Staff/Sr Staff (US Citizenship Required)
Company: Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
Job Area: Engineering Group > ASICS Engineering
Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Must be a U.S. citizen and eligible to receive a U.S. Government security clearance.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Science, Engineering, or related field and 4+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.
Master’s degree in Science, Engineering, or related field and 3+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.
PhD in Science, Engineering, or related field and 2+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.
Key Responsibilities
Execute floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis (CTS), and routing using industry-standard tools (e.g., Innovus, ICC2).
Drive timing closure across multiple corners and modes using static timing analysis (STA) tools (e.g., PrimeTime).
Collaborate with RTL designers to resolve timing, congestion, and DRC issues.
Optimize design for power, performance, and area (PPA).
Conduct formal equivalence checks between RTL and netlist.
Support physical verification including DRC, LVS, and antenna checks.
Work closely with backend teams for tapeout preparation and signoff.
Excellent scripting skills (TCL, Python, Perl) for reference flow automation.
Execute full-chip and block-level physical verification including DRC, LVS, ERC, antenna, and density checks using industry-standard tools (e.g., Calibre, Pegasus, ICV).
Customize and optimize reference physical verification flows to align with project needs and foundry requirements.
Perform GDS-to-GDS comparisons to validate ECO changes, ensure layout integrity, and support tapeout readiness.
Debug and resolve physical verification violations, working closely with layout, design, and CAD teams.
Collaborate with foundries to ensure compliance with latest design rule manuals (DRMs) and tapeout checklists.
Support signoff verification, including multi-corner/multi-mode analysis and ECO validation.
Develop and maintain automation scripts for verification flows, reporting, and regression testing.
Interface with EDA vendors to resolve tool issues and improve flow robustness.
Participate in design reviews, providing feedback on layout quality, rule compliance, and manufacturability.
Ensure timely delivery of clean GDSII for tapeout, with full verification signoff.
Perform full-chip and block-level static timing analysis (STA) using industry-standard tools (e.g., Synopsys PrimeTime, Cadence Tempus).
Develop, validate, and maintain timing constraints (SDC) for multiple modes and corners.
Collaborate with RTL, synthesis, and physical design teams to ensure timing-aware design practices.
Debug and resolve setup, hold, and transition violations across various PVT corners.
Drive timing closure through iterative optimization and ECO implementation.
Customize and enhance timing analysis flows to improve accuracy, efficiency, and scalability.
Analyze clock tree timing, including skew, latency, and jitter impacts.
Support signoff timing verification, including cross-domain timing and false/multicycle path handling.
Interface with EDA vendors to resolve tool issues and improve flow robustness.
Participate in design reviews, providing insights on timing risks and mitigation strategies.
Define and implement low-power architecture using CLP methodology across RTL and physical design stages.
Develop and maintain power intent files (UPF/CPF) and ensure alignment with design specifications.
Customize and optimize low-power reference flows to meet project-specific requirements.
Collaborate with RTL, synthesis, and physical design teams to integrate power-aware features such as power gating, retention, isolation, and level shifting.
Perform power-aware static checks, simulation, and formal verification to validate power intent.
Debug and resolve issues related to power domain crossings, voltage islands, and power sequencing.
Support signoff verification including power-aware LVS/DRC, STA, and EM/IR analysis.
Interface with EDA vendors to resolve tool issues and improve low-power flow robustness.
Participate in design reviews, providing insights on power architecture, risks, and mitigation strategies.
Ensure compliance with foundry low-power guidelines and contribute to successful tapeout.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
4+ years of experience in physical design, with a focus on clock tree design and implementation.
Strong understanding of digital timing concepts, clock domain crossing, and synchronous/asynchronous design.
Proficiency with EDA tools for CTS, STA, and physical verification (e.g., ICC2, Innovus, PrimeTime).
Experience with advanced nodes (e.g., 7nm, 5nm, 3nm) and FinFET technologies.
Solid scripting skills (TCL, Python, Perl) for flow automation and data analysis.
Familiarity with low-power design techniques, including clock gating and multi-voltage domains.
Preferred Skills
Experience with custom clock tree architectures such as H-tree, mesh, or spine-based topologies.
Knowledge of EM/IR analysis, thermal-aware clocking, and reliability modeling.
Exposure to high-speed interface clocking (e.g., SerDes, DDR, PCIe).
Understanding of package-level clock planning and signal integrity.
Level Of Responsibility
Works independently with minimal supervision.
Provides supervision/guidance to other team members.
Decision‑making is significant in nature and affects work beyond immediate work group.
Requires verbal and written communication skills to convey complex information. May require negotiation, influence, tact, etc.
Has a moderate amount of influence over key organizational decisions (e.g., is consulted by senior leadership to make key decisions).
Tasks do not have defined steps; planning, problem‑solving, and prioritization must occur to complete the tasks effectively.
Equal Opportunity Employer Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer. If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation during the application/hiring process, rest assured that Qualcomm is committed to providing an accessible process. You may e‑mail disability‑accommodations@qualcomm.com or call Qualcomm's toll‑free number found here. Upon request, Qualcomm will provide reasonable accommodations to support individuals with disabilities to be able participate in the hiring process. Qualcomm is also committed to making our workplace accessible for individuals with disabilities.
Pay Range and Compensation & Benefits $140,000.00 - $210,000.00. The above pay scale reflects the broad, minimum to maximum, pay scale for this job code for the location for which it has been posted. The salary is only one component of total compensation at Qualcomm. We also offer a competitive annual discretionary bonus program and opportunity for annual RSU grants.
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Job Area: Engineering Group > ASICS Engineering
Applicants selected will be subject to a government security investigation and must meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information. Must be a U.S. citizen and eligible to receive a U.S. Government security clearance.
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Science, Engineering, or related field and 4+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.
Master’s degree in Science, Engineering, or related field and 3+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.
PhD in Science, Engineering, or related field and 2+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.
Key Responsibilities
Execute floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis (CTS), and routing using industry-standard tools (e.g., Innovus, ICC2).
Drive timing closure across multiple corners and modes using static timing analysis (STA) tools (e.g., PrimeTime).
Collaborate with RTL designers to resolve timing, congestion, and DRC issues.
Optimize design for power, performance, and area (PPA).
Conduct formal equivalence checks between RTL and netlist.
Support physical verification including DRC, LVS, and antenna checks.
Work closely with backend teams for tapeout preparation and signoff.
Excellent scripting skills (TCL, Python, Perl) for reference flow automation.
Execute full-chip and block-level physical verification including DRC, LVS, ERC, antenna, and density checks using industry-standard tools (e.g., Calibre, Pegasus, ICV).
Customize and optimize reference physical verification flows to align with project needs and foundry requirements.
Perform GDS-to-GDS comparisons to validate ECO changes, ensure layout integrity, and support tapeout readiness.
Debug and resolve physical verification violations, working closely with layout, design, and CAD teams.
Collaborate with foundries to ensure compliance with latest design rule manuals (DRMs) and tapeout checklists.
Support signoff verification, including multi-corner/multi-mode analysis and ECO validation.
Develop and maintain automation scripts for verification flows, reporting, and regression testing.
Interface with EDA vendors to resolve tool issues and improve flow robustness.
Participate in design reviews, providing feedback on layout quality, rule compliance, and manufacturability.
Ensure timely delivery of clean GDSII for tapeout, with full verification signoff.
Perform full-chip and block-level static timing analysis (STA) using industry-standard tools (e.g., Synopsys PrimeTime, Cadence Tempus).
Develop, validate, and maintain timing constraints (SDC) for multiple modes and corners.
Collaborate with RTL, synthesis, and physical design teams to ensure timing-aware design practices.
Debug and resolve setup, hold, and transition violations across various PVT corners.
Drive timing closure through iterative optimization and ECO implementation.
Customize and enhance timing analysis flows to improve accuracy, efficiency, and scalability.
Analyze clock tree timing, including skew, latency, and jitter impacts.
Support signoff timing verification, including cross-domain timing and false/multicycle path handling.
Interface with EDA vendors to resolve tool issues and improve flow robustness.
Participate in design reviews, providing insights on timing risks and mitigation strategies.
Define and implement low-power architecture using CLP methodology across RTL and physical design stages.
Develop and maintain power intent files (UPF/CPF) and ensure alignment with design specifications.
Customize and optimize low-power reference flows to meet project-specific requirements.
Collaborate with RTL, synthesis, and physical design teams to integrate power-aware features such as power gating, retention, isolation, and level shifting.
Perform power-aware static checks, simulation, and formal verification to validate power intent.
Debug and resolve issues related to power domain crossings, voltage islands, and power sequencing.
Support signoff verification including power-aware LVS/DRC, STA, and EM/IR analysis.
Interface with EDA vendors to resolve tool issues and improve low-power flow robustness.
Participate in design reviews, providing insights on power architecture, risks, and mitigation strategies.
Ensure compliance with foundry low-power guidelines and contribute to successful tapeout.
Qualifications
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
4+ years of experience in physical design, with a focus on clock tree design and implementation.
Strong understanding of digital timing concepts, clock domain crossing, and synchronous/asynchronous design.
Proficiency with EDA tools for CTS, STA, and physical verification (e.g., ICC2, Innovus, PrimeTime).
Experience with advanced nodes (e.g., 7nm, 5nm, 3nm) and FinFET technologies.
Solid scripting skills (TCL, Python, Perl) for flow automation and data analysis.
Familiarity with low-power design techniques, including clock gating and multi-voltage domains.
Preferred Skills
Experience with custom clock tree architectures such as H-tree, mesh, or spine-based topologies.
Knowledge of EM/IR analysis, thermal-aware clocking, and reliability modeling.
Exposure to high-speed interface clocking (e.g., SerDes, DDR, PCIe).
Understanding of package-level clock planning and signal integrity.
Level Of Responsibility
Works independently with minimal supervision.
Provides supervision/guidance to other team members.
Decision‑making is significant in nature and affects work beyond immediate work group.
Requires verbal and written communication skills to convey complex information. May require negotiation, influence, tact, etc.
Has a moderate amount of influence over key organizational decisions (e.g., is consulted by senior leadership to make key decisions).
Tasks do not have defined steps; planning, problem‑solving, and prioritization must occur to complete the tasks effectively.
Equal Opportunity Employer Qualcomm is an equal opportunity employer. If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation during the application/hiring process, rest assured that Qualcomm is committed to providing an accessible process. You may e‑mail disability‑accommodations@qualcomm.com or call Qualcomm's toll‑free number found here. Upon request, Qualcomm will provide reasonable accommodations to support individuals with disabilities to be able participate in the hiring process. Qualcomm is also committed to making our workplace accessible for individuals with disabilities.
Pay Range and Compensation & Benefits $140,000.00 - $210,000.00. The above pay scale reflects the broad, minimum to maximum, pay scale for this job code for the location for which it has been posted. The salary is only one component of total compensation at Qualcomm. We also offer a competitive annual discretionary bonus program and opportunity for annual RSU grants.
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