Freelance Digital Physical Design, DFT Engineer

Swave Photonics; Vlaams-Brabant; On-site; EUR 75,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor in Belgium seeks a senior digital backend layout engineer to own the back-end layout of a mixed-signal IC, from RTL to GDSII, using Cadence tools. You will drive DFT strategy and collaborate with design teams to optimize layouts for performance, power, and area, and you will verify layouts with Calibre/ICV.

Strong scripting in TCL/Perl and fluent English required; five+ years of industry experience.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering (EE) or related field.
• Minimum of 5 years hands-on experience in digital back-end layout/physical design.
• Proven track record in taking RTL to GDSII.
• Solid understanding of layout design principles and advanced process nodes.
• Proficiency with Cadence digital layout tools.
• Experience with physical verification tools such as Calibre or ICV.
• Familiarity with scripting languages (TCL, Perl).
• Strong analytical problem-solving, collaboration, and English fluency.

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of the digital back-end layout design.
• Design and implement the digital layout for a mixed-signal IC.
• Execute the physical design using Cadence tools and verify the layout with advanced physical verification tools.
• Partner with the design team to optimize physical layouts for performance, power, and area (PPA).
• Provide immediate, actionable feedback to optimize design flows and physical implementation pipelines.
• Drive Design for Test (DFT) insertion, architecture, and strategy to ensure high test coverage.

Skills

RTL to GDSII

Cadence tools

DFT integration

Layout principles

TCL/Perl scripting

English fluency

Education

Bachelor/Master in EE

Tools

Calibre

ICV

Cadence

Job description

Responsibilities

• Take ownership of the digital back‑end layout design.
• Design and implement the digital layout for a mixed‑signal IC.
• Execute the physical design using Cadence tools and verify the layout with advanced physical verification tools.
• Partner with the design team to optimize physical layouts for performance, power, and area (PPA).
• Provide immediate, actionable feedback to the design team to optimize design flows and physical implementation pipelines.
• Drive Design for Test (DFT) insertion, architecture, and strategy to ensure high test coverage.

Requirements

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering (EE) or a related technical field.
• Minimum of 5 years of hands‑on experience in digital back‑end layout/physical design.
• Proven track record in taking RTL to GDSII.
• Solid understanding of layout design principles, design rules, and advanced process nodes.
• Proficiency with Cadence digital layout tools.
• Experience with physical verification tools such as Calibre or ICV.
• Familiarity with scripting languages (TCL, Perl) to optimize design flows.
• Strong analytical problem‑solving skills, excellent communication, and a highly collaborative, team‑first mindset.
• Professional fluency in English (written and spoken).