Physical Design Engineer

Sintegra Inc.; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Sintegra Inc. is looking for expert Physical Design Engineers based in Austin, Texas, to lead top-level signoff activities for complex SoCs on advanced nodes (7nm, 5nm, 3nm). In this role, you will collaborate closely with multiple teams to ensure the structural integrity and power reliability of high-performance silicon.

The ideal candidate has at least 8 years of experience, proven success in driving signoff closure, and a strong track record in advanced design methodologies. This position demands excellent communication and analytical skills.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in Physical Design/Signoff.
• Proven track record with 2-3 successful tapeouts on advanced nodes.
• Strong expertise in top-level signoff methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead top-level signoff for high-performance SoC designs.
• Collaborate with various teams to ensure design integrity.
• Develop and optimize signoff methodologies for improved TAT and PPA.

Skills

Expertise in Physical Design/Signoff

Proficiency in scripting and automation

Deep knowledge of OCV methodologies

Excellent debugging and analytical skills

Education

BS/MS in Electrical Engineering or related field

Tools

Cadence Innovus

Synopsys ICC2

Ansys RedHawk-SC

Pegasus

Calibre

Job description

Overview

We are seeking expert Physical Design Engineers to lead top-level signoff activities for complex SoCs on advanced nodes (7nm / 5nm / 3nm). The ideal candidate will have multiple full-cycle tapeouts and the technical depth to independently drive signoff-to-tapeout closure. This role requires close collaboration with RTL, Timing, Power Integrity, and Foundry teams to ensure structural integrity, timing convergence, and power reliability for high-performance silicon.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead top-level signoff for high-performance SoC designs.
• Collaborate with RTL, Physical Design, STA, and Foundry teams.
• Execute, analyze, and debug complex full-chip design challenges.
• Develop and optimize signoff methodologies to improve TAT (Turn-Around Time) and PPA (Power, Performance, Area).
• Identify and mitigate timing, power, reliability, and clocking risks at full-chip level.
• Drive signoff closure and tapeout readiness independently.

Specialized Expertise

Subject Matter Experts in at least one track

Track 1: Top-Level Clock Distribution

• Design and analyze clock architectures (H-Tree, Mesh, Hybrid).
• Drive CTS for ultra-low skew and balanced latency.
• Optimize clock power with advanced gating techniques.
• Validate clock signal integrity and duty cycle distortion (DCD).
• Tools: Cadence Innovus, Synopsys ICC2, specialized CTS engines.

Track 2: Physical Verification (PV)

• Own end-to-end PV signoff closure across DRC, LVS, ERC, antenna, density, fill, and top-level integration.
• Debug complex PV violations across layout, routing, macros, IP, power grid, decks, and tool/setup issues.
• Build repeatable tapeout-ready PV methodology with clean runs, waiver discipline, version control, triage, and final signoff reviews.
• Tools: Pegasus, Calibre.

Track 3: Top-Level EMIR (Power Integrity)

• Perform full-chip Static & Dynamic IR Drop analysis.
• Execute Electromigration (EM) verification.
• Optimize PDN for reliability and noise margins.
• Analyze high-frequency switching impacts and voltage droop behavior.
• Drive power integrity signoff closure.
• Tools: Ansys RedHawk-SC, Cadence Voltus, equivalent EMIR tools.

Required Qualifications

• BS/MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in Physical Design/Signoff.
• Proven track record with 2–3 successful tapeouts on advanced nodes (7nm, 5nm, 3nm).
• Deep knowledge of OCV, AOCV/POCV, and statistical timing methodologies.
• Strong expertise in top-level signoff methodologies.
• Proficiency in scripting and automation (Tcl, Python, Perl).
• Excellent debugging, analytical, and communication skills.
• Ability to present signoff status, risks, and closure plans to leadership.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with 2.5D/3D IC packaging signoff.
• Familiarity with foundry signoff methodologies (TSMC, Samsung, Intel).
• Prior experience in HPC, AI accelerators, or large-scale SoC designs.