Senior Staff PPA Engineer — Lead Power/Performance/Area

Samsung Electronics America; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Life Insurance

401(k)

Onsite lunch

Employee purchase program

Tuition assistance

Paid time off

Student loan program

Wellness incentives

Job summary

Samsung Electronics America seeks a Sr Staff Physical Design PPA Engineer to lead power, performance, and area optimization for premium IPs at the SARC/ACL center. You will own end-to-end PD flows from synthesis through signoff, collaborating with RTL/SOC teams to push innovative design solutions.

The role requires extensive experience in ASIC/SoC design, strong scripting skills, and a proven ability to deliver high-quality results within tight schedules.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Computer Engineering/relevant technical field.
• 8+ years of experience with a Master’s degree.
• 6+ years of experience with a PhD.
• Solid understanding of SOC/ASIC design flow with tapeout experience.
• Experience with synthesis, block, and full chip implementation using P&R/STA flows and tools.
• Proficient in TCL, Perl, Shell, and/or Python scripting.
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Lead PPA initiatives by identifying opportunities, tracking progress, and delivering solutions.
• Drive flow and methodology improvements to automate Physical Design implementation.
• Collaborate with RTL/SOC teams to meet design needs and expectations.
• Hands-on responsibility from synthesis to place & route through signoff flows.
• Perform chip-level and hierarchical physical implementation including timing and P&R signoff.
• Resolve design issues with RTL counterparts and optimize the design flow.
• Ensure designs meet frequency, power, and area targets.

Skills

Physical design

P&R flows

Scripting TCL

Python scripting

Problem solving

Timing & power analysis

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Computer Engineering/relevant technical field

Master’s degree

PhD

Tools

Synthesis tools

Place & Route tools

TIMING/STA tools

CTS tooling

Job description

Samsung Electronics America seeks a Sr Staff Physical Design PPA Engineer to lead power, performance, and area optimization for premium IPs at the SARC/ACL center. You will own end-to-end PD flows from synthesis through signoff, collaborating with RTL/SOC teams to push innovative design solutions.

The role requires extensive experience in ASIC/SoC design, strong scripting skills, and a proven ability to deliver high-quality results within tight schedules.