Applications Engineering, Staff Engineer

Synopsys; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 112,000 - 168,000; Full time

Job summary

Synopsys in Austin, Texas is seeking a Staff Applications Engineer focused on design signoff. You will deploy and support PrimeTime, RedHawk-SC, and related signoff tools at leading semiconductor companies, working directly with customer design teams to diagnose STA, PDN, SI, and reliability signoff challenges across chip, package, and system levels.

The role requires 3–5 years in semiconductor design, strong scripting skills, and a customer‑facing mindset.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years of hands-on semiconductor design experience.
• Deep expertise in static timing analysis and timing closure.
• Experience providing applications engineering and direct customer support for signoff tools.
• Proficiency with Synopsys signoff tools in real projects.
• Willingness to travel as needed.

Responsibilities

• Deploy and support Synopsys signoff tools at leading semiconductor companies.
• Engage with customer design teams to diagnose STA, PDN, SI, and reliability signoff issues.
• Own technical issues end to end to unblock tapeouts.
• Translate customer pain points into product improvements and roadmaps.
• Support presales activities by demonstrating Seascape and signoff solutions.
• Build a knowledge base of best practices and troubleshooting FAQs.

Skills

Static timing analysis

Timing closure

Power delivery analysis

Customer engagement

Tools

PrimeTime

RedHawk-SC

PrimeClosure

PTECO

Tweaker

StarRC

Python

Tcl

Perl

Job description

Staff Applications Engineer - Design Signoff

Job ID

18506

City

Austin

State/Province

Texas

Date Posted

28-Aug-2026

Job Category

Job Subcategory

Applications Engineering

Employee

No

Base Salary Range: $112000 - $ 168000

Descriptions & Requirements

Job Description and Requirements

We Are

Synopsys is the leader in engineering solutions from silicon to systems, enabling customers to rapidly innovate AI-powered products. We deliver industry-leading silicon design, IP, simulation and analysis solutions, and design services. We partner closely with our customers across a wide range of industries to maximize their R&D capability and productivity, powering innovation today that ignites the ingenuity of tomorrow.

You Are

You have spent years deep in the semiconductor world, close enough to the metal to know that timing closure at 3nm is not a checkbox, it is a negotiation with physics. You have debugged power delivery networks that looked fine on paper but failed in silicon, and you learned early that the best solution is the one the customer can actually use on Monday morning.

You are the kind of engineer who can walk into a room full of stressed design leads at a top foundry, look at their STA violations or EMIR hotspots, and know within ten minutes whether this is a tool issue, a methodology gap, or a design problem they have not named yet. You do not wait to be handed a perfect problem statement. You ask the right questions, triangulate fast, and move toward a solution even when half the data is missing.

Working directly with customers energizes you. Not because you love travel or presentations, but because you care about making complex tools do what they are supposed to do in real design environments. You have a point of view on what good signoff looks like, and you are not afraid to push back when a flow does not make sense or a feature request misses the actual problem.

At Synopsys, you will work with the teams building the tools and the customers depending on them to tape out. What you learn in Austin this week will shape what ships globally next quarter.

What You'll Be Doing

• Deploy and support Synopsys signoff tools including PrimeTime , RedHawk-SC, PrimeClosure , PTECO, Tweaker, and StarRC at leading semiconductor companies and foundries working on advanced node SoCs and 3DICs
• Engage directly with customer design teams to diagnose and resolve static timing analysis, power integrity, signal integrity, and reliability signoff challenges across chip, package, and system levels
• Own technical issues end to end, working proactively with assigned accounts to deliver solutions that unblock tapeouts and keep development schedules on trac k
• Collaborate with Synopsys product development teams to translate customer pain points and feature requests into actionable product enhancements and roadmap priorities
• Support presales technical activities by demonstrating the Seascape platform and signoff solutions, helping sales teams articulate value and close opportunities
• Build and maintain a knowledge base of EDA best practices, deployment guides, and troubleshooting FAQs for use by both customers and internal support teams
• Participate in cross-functional initiatives within Synopsys, sharing what you learn in the field to improve tools, methodologies, and customer engagement strategies

The Impact You Will Have

• Accelerate time to tapeout for customers by resolving complex STA, PDN, and reliability issues that would otherwise stall multi- million dollar design programs
• Shape the next generation of Synopsys signoff products by feeding real-world design challenges and customer requirements directly into engineering teams
• Expand adoption of the Seascape platform and advanced signoff flows across top-tier semiconductor companies, strengthening Synopsys' position in the signoff market
• Build deep technical trust with customer engineering teams, turning one-time support interactions into long-term strategic partnerships
• Reduce escalations and support load by creating reusable solutions, best practices, and documentation that help customers and internal teams solve problems faster
• Enable successful deployment of Synopsys tools at advanced nodes where margins are tight and traditional methods break down
• Contribute to revenue growth by supporting presales efforts with technical credibility and solution-oriented customer engagement

What You'll Need

• 3-5 years of hands-on experience in semiconductor design, with deep expertise in static timing analysis, timing closure, ECO implementation, or power delivery network analysis at block or SoC level
• Proven ability to provide technical support or applications engineering for timing signoff or power integrity domains, including direct customer interaction and issue resolution
• Working proficiency with Synopsys signoff tools such as PrimeTime , RedHawk-SC, PrimeClosure , PTECO, Tweaker, or StarRC in real design environments
• Strong scripting and programming skills in languages like Python, Tcl , or Perl to automate workflows, analyze results, and build custom solutions for customer problems
• Experience with PDN implementation flows, advanced node design challenges, or 3DIC methodologies is a strong plus

Who You Are

• You can take a vague customer complaint like "timing is broken" and within an hour of log review and a few targeted questions, identify whether it is a constraint issue, a tool setting, or an actual design flaw
• Comfortable presenting technical content to both hands-on engineers and engineering directors, you adjust your depth and framing depending on who is in the room without losing clarity
• You do not need to be the smartest person in the room, but you do need to be the one who connects the dots between what the tool is doing and what the customer actually needs
• Organized enough to juggle multiple customer engagements, internal product discussions, and knowledge base contributions without dropping threads or losing context
• You treat customer problems like they are your problems, not because it is your job, but because you genuinely want to see the design succeed and the tool work the way it should
• Willing to travel as needed to customer sites, understanding that some problems only make sense when you are sitting next to the engineer who hit them

The Team You'll Be Part Of

Your recruiter will share more about the team structure and mission during the interview process.

Rewards and Benefits

We offer a comprehensive range of health, wellness, and financial benefits to cater to your needs. Our total rewards include both monetary and non-monetary offerings. Your recruiter will provide more details about the salary range and benefits during the hiring process.

At Synopsys, we want talented people of every background to feel valued and supported to do their best work. Synopsys considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, military veteran status, or disability.

In addition to the base salary, this role may be eligible for an annual bonus, equity, and other discretionary bonuses. Synopsys offers comprehensive health, wellness, and financial benefits as part of a competitive total rewards package. The actual compensation offered will be based on a number of job-related factors, including location, skills, experience, and education. Your recruiter can share more specific details on the total rewards package upon request. The base salary range for this role is across the U.S.