AI Methodology Design/CAD Engineer

Apple; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple's Silicon Technologies group in Austin seeks a VLSI design or CAD engineer to apply AI to chip design. You will work end to end with design teams and CAD flow owners on complex challenges, evaluating AI tools and tuning agents to improve chip delivery.

The role requires a BS and 10+ years in VLSI, CAD or related fields, strong Python experience, and hands-on use of EDA tools. You will help build AI-enabled CAD flows and integrate AI into the chip design workflow.

Qualifications

• Minimum requirement of BS and 10+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Experience using AI tools, such as AI coding assistants, in engineering work.
• Experience in VLSI design, CAD tools or CAD flows.
• Experience in Python programming.

Responsibilities

• Partnering with design teams and CAD flow owners across multiple projects to understand complex design challenges and where AI can help.
• Contributing to evaluation data and quality metrics, and running evaluations across models to find where an agent fails.
• Tuning AI agents, including their prompts, tools, agent skills and choice of model.
• Developing CAD tools and flows that let AI agents work with design data and EDA tools.
• Evaluating AI tools from EDA vendors alongside in-house solutions.
• Enabling the organization to leverage AI capabilities and drive efficiency in chip delivery.

Skills

VLSI design

Python programming

AI tools

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

EDA tools

Python tooling

Job description

Summary

Do you love creating elegant solutions to highly complex challenges? Do you intrinsically see the importance in every detail? As part of our Silicon Technologies group, you'll help design and manufacture our next-generation, high-performance, power-efficient processor, system-on-chip (SoC). You'll ensure Apple products and services can seamlessly and efficiently handle the tasks that make them beloved by millions. Joining this group means you'll be responsible for crafting and building the technology that fuels Apple's devices. Together, you and your team will enable our customers to do all the things they love with their devices.As part of the Hardware Technology CAD team, you'll help bring AI methodology to chip design. You will work end to end with design teams and CAD flow owners on complex design and CAD challenges, in areas such as custom and analog design, RTL and front end, design verification, physical design, timing, extraction and signoff. You will build and evaluate AI solutions for these challenges, with a focus on the quality of their results. We are looking for a VLSI design or CAD engineer who is passionate about applying AI to chip design.

Description

In this highly visible role, your primary responsibilities will include:Partnering with design teams and CAD flow owners across multiple projects to understand complex design challenges and where AI can helpContributing to evaluation data and quality metrics, and running evaluations across models to find where an agent failsTuning AI agents, including their prompts, tools, agent skills and choice of modelDeveloping CAD tools and flows that let AI agents work with design data and EDA toolsEvaluating AI tools from EDA vendors alongside in-house solutionsEnabling the organization to leverage AI capabilities and drive efficiency in chip delivery

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum requirement of BS and 10+ years of relevant industry experienceExperience using AI tools, such as AI coding assistants, in engineering workExperience in VLSI design, CAD tools or CAD flowsExperience in Python programming

Preferred Qualifications

Experience building LLM applications or tool-using AI agents, including Model Context Protocol (MCP) serversExperience evaluating or tuning AI systems, such as agent performance or output qualityExperience applying machine learning to design data, such as predicting timing or powerUnderstanding of the chip design flow, from spec to tapeoutHands-on knowledge of industry-standard EDA tools for simulation, synthesis, place and route, extraction, timing or physical verificationExperience developing CAD tools, CAD flows or design methodologyExperience writing testbenches, regression tests or signoff checks