Physical Design Engineer

Apple, Inc.; Waltham (MA); On-site; USD 166,000 - 292,000; Full time

Job summary

Apple Inc. in Waltham, MA is seeking a seasoned Physical Design Engineer to contribute across RTL to GDSII delivery, shaping high-performance PHY designs.

You will work with architecture, CAD, timing and logic teams, defining constraints and physical flow, with a focus on low-power clock networks and scalable floor-plans. The role emphasizes collaboration and rigorous design methodologies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's of Science in Electrical Engineering with 10+ years of relevant experience.
• Deep knowledge of Physical Design, floor-planning, and Place & Route.
• Experience with power-grid and clock specifications.
• Understanding of physical construction, integration and verification.
• Familiarity with Verilog, HDL, and timing closure techniques.
• Scripting in Perl/Tcl for automating flows.

Responsibilities

• Generate block/chip level static timing constraints.
• Build full chip floor-plan including pin placement, partitions and power grid.
• Perform block level place and route and meet timing, area and power constraints.
• Generate and implement ECOs to fix timing, noise and EM IR violations.
• Run PD verification flow at chip/block level and guide LVS/DRC fixes.
• Contribute to CAD and physical design methodologies.
• Assist in flow development for chip integration.

Skills

Physical Design

Verilog HDL

Floor-planning

Place & Route

Power/Clock specs

LVS/DRC debugging

Perl/Tcl scripting

Synthesis tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Synthesis tools

CAD tools

Job description

Waltham, Massachusetts, United States Hardware

At Apple we work every single day to craft products that enrich people’s lives. Do you love working on challenges that no one has solved yet? Do you like changing the game? We have an opportunity for a forward-thinking and unusually hardworking Physical Design Engineer. As a member of our wide-ranging group, you will have the rare and great opportunity to craft upcoming products that will delight and encourage millions of Apple’s customers every single day. In this role, we will be at the center of a PHY design effort working with architecture, CAD, timing and logic design teams, with a critical impact on delivering outstanding PHY designs. You will be required to do physical designs of outstanding PHY design.

Description

As a Physical Design engineer you will contribute to all phases of physical design of high performance PHY design from RTL to delivery of our final GDSII.

Responsibilities

• Generate block/chip level static timing constraints.


• Build full chip floor-plan including pin placement, partitions and power grid. Develop and validate high performance low power clock network guidelines.


• Perform block level place and route and close the design to meet timing, area and power constraints.


• Generate and Implement ECOs to fix timing, noise and EM IR violations.


• Run Physical Design verification flow at chip/block level and provide guidelines to fix LVS/DRC violations to other designers.


• Participate in establishing CAD and physical design methodologies for correct by construction designs.


• Assist in flow development for chip integration.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's of Science in Electrical Engineering and a minimum of 10 years of relevant industry experience or equivalent.

Preferred Qualifications

• The ideal candidate will have deep design experience in high PHY and/or SOC designs.


• Deep Knowledge about industry standards and practices in Physical Design, including Physically aware synthesis, Floor-planning, and Place & Route.


• Experience in developing and implementing Power-grid and Clock specifications.


• Strong understanding of all aspects of Physical construction, Integration and Physical Verification.


• Shown Knowledge of Basic SoC Architecture and HDL languages like Verilog to be able with logic design team for timing fixes Power user of industry standard Physical Design & Synthesis tools.


• Deep Understanding of scripting languages such as Perl/Tcl, solid understanding of Extraction and STA methodology and tools.


• Deep Understanding of Physical Design Verification methodology to debug LVS/DRC issues at chip/block level.

At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $165,800 and $292,400, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple’s discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You’ll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses — including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits

Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.

Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We seek to promote equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant

At Apple, we believe accessibility is a fundamental human right. You’ll find that idea reflected in everything here — in our culture, our benefits and our digital tools. By welcoming as many perspectives as possible, we help you build a career where you feel like you belong.

Learn about accessibility in Apple’s workplace

Learn about reasonable accommodations for job applicants