EDA / PDK Staff Engineer

SkyWater Technology; BLOOMINGTON (MN); Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

SkyWater Technology, Inc. in Bloomington is seeking an EDA Staff Engineer to advance PDK development and design enablement for next‑generation IC technologies.

The role collaborates across teams, supports customers, and helps drive tape-outs and manufacturing readiness for CMOS, Photonics, and Quantum options. The ideal candidate has strong digital IC design, PDK experience, Linux proficiency, and hands-on use of Synopsys/Cadence physical design tools, Innovus, and related EDA flows, enabling

Qualifications

• BS (3-5 years exp.) or MS (2-3 years exp.) in Electrical Engineering or similar.
• Prior experience in IC design and/or EDA development.
• Understanding and experience with digital IC design (architecture to RTL to GDSII) & IC fabrication (tape-out to post-silicon validation and testing).
• Intimate (hands-on) familiarity with the EDA Physical Design flow in multiple process nodes and technologies using industry-standard EDA tools and PDKs.
• Strong understanding of IP design and its requirements, both analog and digital.
• Significant experience with the use of Synopsys or Cadence Physical Implementation including workflow development. (Innovus, Fusion Complier, etc...)

Responsibilities

• Design, documentation, characterization, and validation of Digital and AMS IC design PDKs for new process technologies and new technology options, across CMOS, Photonics, and Quantum technologies.
• Technical liaison activities between internal teams, design houses, vendors, and customers to ensure successful development, tape-out, and manufacture of customer designs.
• Technical support for customers using SkyWater PDKs and IP collateral.
• Management and support of 3rd party PDK and IP developers to ensure deliverables are complete and correct, enabling IC designers to effectively design into SkyWater technologies.
• Enhancement, testing, and support of existing PDKs, including planning, development, validation, release, and version management.
• Performing other duties as assigned.

Skills

Physical design and verification

PDK development

Design flow development

Linux proficiency

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering

MS in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Synopsys

Cadence

Innovus

Fusion Compiler

Calibre

xACT 3D

Quantus

StarRC

EM/IR

VoltusFI

Job description

This is a full-time permanent position ideally based in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area, though consideration will be given to remote location. The Electronic Design Automation (EDA) / PDK Staff Engineer will collaborate with cross-functional teams providing design enablement collateral for semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) technologies and broad design application support. The EDA engineer will be a significant technical contributor to a broad array of IC development projects, contributing to Process Design Kit (PDK) development and release. The ideal candidate will have strong skills in physical design and verification, PDK and design flow development, Linux, and other semiconductor EDA / CAD tools and methodologies.

Major Area of Accountability

• Design, documentation, characterization, and validation of Digital and AMS IC design PDKs for new process technologies and new technology options, across CMOS, Photonics, and Quantum technologies.
• Technical liaison activities between internal teams, design houses, vendors, and customers to ensure successful development, tape-out, and manufacture of customer designs.
• Technical support for customers using SkyWater PDKs and IP collateral.
• Management and support of 3rd party PDK and IP developers to ensure deliverables are complete and correct, enabling IC designers to effectively design into SkyWater technologies.
• Enhancement, testing, and support of existing PDKs, including planning, development, validation, release, and version management.
• Performing other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Education: BS (3-5 years exp.) or MS (2-3 years exp.) in Electrical Engineering or similar.
• Prior experience in IC design and/or EDA development.
• Understanding and experience with digital IC design (architecture to RTL to GDSII) & IC fabrication (tape-out to post-silicon validation and testing).
• Intimate (hands-on) familiarity with the EDA Physical Design flow in multiple process nodes and technologies using industry-standard EDA tools and PDKs.
• Strong understanding of IP design and its requirements, both analog and digital.
• Significant experience with the use of Synopsys or Cadence Physical Implementation including workflow development. (Innovus, Fusion Complier, etc...)

U.S. Person Required: This position requires compliance with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). All accepted applicants must be U.S. Persons. ITAR defines a U.S. Person as U.S. citizen, U.S. Permanent Resident, Political Asylee, or Refugee.

Preferred Qualifications

• Significant experience with the use of Cadence, Mentor, and Synopsys analog design and layout tools including PDK development.
• Knowledge and experience with Linux systems and EDA tool installation and management.
• Familiarity with verification and extraction tools such as Calibre, xACT 3D, Quantus, StarRC or EM/IR tools like VoltusFI.
• Strong experience with scripting in Python, Tcl, Perl, etc.
• Strong customer service experience.