Senior Physical Design Engineer

Normal Computing; City Of London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading technology company in the City of London is looking for a Physical Design Engineer to oversee the entire development of silicon from architectural ideas to tape-out. Candidates should possess experience in SOC implementation and a strong grasp of physical design tools and scripting languages. The role offers the chance to work on revolutionary thermodynamic computing architectures in a collaborative environment.

Qualifications

• Experience across all aspects of SOC development.
• Strong understanding of synthesis, PNR, and STA.
• Experience with physical verification tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead physical implementation of SOC and all blocks.
• Own SOC implementation flow and full chip signoff.
• Contribute ideas for thermodynamic computing technology.

Skills

Experience in SOC implementation

Fluency in Verilog and/or SystemVerilog

Excellent communication skills

Familiarity with digital design flows

Tools

Cadence suite (Virtuoso, Genus, Innovus, Quantus, Tempus, Voltus)

Scripting languages (Python, TCL)

Job description

Overview

At Normal Computing, we are developing a new thermodynamic computing paradigm to accelerate probabilistic AI workloads by embracing noise, rather than fighting it.

Our work combines foundational research on the physics of computing with a mission to ship scalable, reliable silicon and systems to revolutionize AI.

Your Role in Our Mission

As a physical design engineer at Normal, you will work closely with the silicon and hardware R&D team to develop and implement novel thermodynamic computing architectures. You will have significant ownership of chip floorplanning, top-level integration, and signoff, with the goal of delivering reliable silicon and achieving first-silicon-success.

Responsibilities

• You will play a key role in the entire development process of our silicon, from idea to architecture to implementation to tape-out.
• Lead physical implementation of the SOC and all blocks.
• Own key aspects of SOC implementation flow development.
• Perform full chip signoff - including timing checks, power analysis, logical equivalence checking, EM/IR analysis, and physical verification.
• Contribute new ideas for potential thermodynamic computing technology implementations and architectures.
• Floorplan a complex SoC with analog, digital, and mixed-signal blocks.
• Drive requirements for and support analog layouts.
• Participate in the tape-out, bring-up, and testing of Normal's silicon.

What Makes You A Great Fit

• Experience of multiple aspects of SOC implementation through to tapeout - able to discuss personal examples of block layout, IP integration such as padrings, and global clock tree/bus layout.
• Strong familiarity with digital design flows for SOCs.
• Strong understanding of Synthesis, PNR and STA including timing signoff configuration.
• Experienced in configuring decks for, and driving the execution of, physical verification tools from block level to SOC.
• Fluency in Verilog and/or SystemVerilog.
• Experience in scripting languages Python and TCL.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well on a small, interdisciplinary team.

What Elevates Your Application

• Proficiency with the Cadence suite of physical design tools, including Virtuoso, Genus, Innovus, Quantus, Tempus and Voltus.
• Experience mentoring or managing junior engineers.
• Experience with asynchronous logic.
• Experience developing digital design flows.
• Experience with foundries & foundry aggregators to help acquire, set up, and support PDKs, set up and perform LVS and DRC flows, and tape out a completed silicon product.
• Experience selecting, installing and evaluating EDA solutions.
• Experience selecting, sourcing, and integrating third-party IP from multiple different vendors into a silicon product.
• Familiarity with the wafer test, packaging, and chip testing process.
• Experience working at a startup.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Normal Computing is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

Accessibility Accommodations

Normal Computing is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to individuals with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please let us know at [e-mail].

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