RTL2GDS IC Design Engineer Architect

At Cadence, we hire and develop leaders and innovators who want to make an impact on the world of technology.

• The ideal candidate will be energetic, innovative, and enthusiastic about helping customers solve their toughest Digital Implementation and Signoff challenges using Cadence technology. The candidate will drive RTL-to-GDS design activities at advanced process nodes using Cadence Digital IC products.
• Key Responsibilities
• Provide technical support to Cadence customers in Digital Design Implementation and Signoff, including synthesis, floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis, routing, design closure, static timing analysis, power integrity, and timing/power signoff.
• Lead block, subsystem, or full-chip RTL-to-GDS implementation from synthesized RTL or netlist through final GDS and design-database handoff.
• Guide customers on how to best utilize Cadence technologies to achieve PPA, signoff-quality, and project-schedule goals.
• Define and review hierarchical implementation strategies, floorplans, voltage areas, macro placement, IO and bump planning, utilization, congestion, and routability objectives.
• Drive placement, optimization, CTS, multi-source CTS or clock-mesh implementation, routing, extraction, ECO, and post-route closure.
• Own static timing analysis and timing-signoff methodology across multi-mode, multi-corner scenarios, including constraint quality, scenario coverage, timing-model consistency, and exception governance.
• Debug setup, hold, recovery/removal, clock-gating, transition, capacitance, pulse-width, and other applicable timing violations.
• Review clocks, generated clocks, clock-domain relationships, case analysis, false paths, multicycle paths, latency, uncertainty, derates, OCV methodology, propagated clocks, and SI-aware timing analysis.
• Drive correlation between implementation and signoff environments and establish repeatable timing-debug, reporting, and ECO-closure procedures.
• Support UPF-based low-power implementation, including voltage domains, isolation, retention, level shifters, and power switches.
• Define or review power-grid implementation and support static, dynamic, vectorless, and vectored IR/EM analysis and closure.
• Drive extraction, STA, LEC, CLP, IR/EM, DRC, and applicable LVS or layout-signoff flows, including issue disposition and closure evidence.
• Conduct technical presentations, design reviews, and product demonstrations.
• Drive technical evaluations and benchmarks to successful completion.
• Work closely with R&D to enhance tools and methodologies to meet and exceed customer requirements.
• Drive adoption and proliferation of Cadence tools and technologies.
• Amend and augment implementation and signoff flows using Tcl, Python, shell, or other programming skills to meet objectives and improve flow quality, reproducibility, and results.
• Capture best practices and lessons learned from evaluations, benchmarks, and customer engagements, and apply them to improve the efficiency and success rate of future engagements.
• Define tapeout-quality acceptance criteria and ensure complete, reproducible handoff of design databases, GDS, scripts, reports, checklists, assumptions, waivers, and known limitations.
• Provide technical support when developing business cases for process-improvement and methodology-development projects.
• Provide mentorship and technical guidance to junior engineers.
• Qualifications and Experience
• Requires a BS, MS, or PhD in Electrical Engineering or a related field, with 15–17 years of industry experience in design and EDA, focused on Digital Implementation and Signoff.
• Deep understanding of the ASIC RTL-to-GDS implementation process and signoff requirements.
• Strong hands-on experience with Place and Route tools such as Cadence Innovus, Synopsys ICC2, or Fusion Compiler.
• Experience with synthesis tools such as Cadence Genus or RTL Compiler, or Synopsys Design Compiler.
• Experience with EDA tools used in IC digital implementation and signoff flows, including STA tools such as Cadence Tempus or Synopsys PrimeTime.
• Strong STA and SDC debugging abilities are required, including MMMC analysis, timing exceptions, OCV-based analysis, clock modeling, SI effects, and implementation-to-signoff correlation.
• Experience with low-power analysis, UPF, multi-voltage design, clock design and analysis, and advanced 7 nm or 5 nm technology nodes is a plus.
• Experience with power-grid design, extraction, IR/EM analysis, LEC, CLP, DRC, and tapeout-quality physical verification is preferred.
• Automation skills using Python, Tcl, and shell scripting are essential.
• Strong analytical and debug skills covering digital implementation and signoff are critical.
• Proven track record of working effectively in a fast-paced, customer-facing environment.
• Excellent customer interaction, technical communication, and presentation skills. The annual salary range for California is $185,500 to $344,500. You may also be eligible to receive incentive compensation: bonus, equity, and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the salary range is a guideline and compensation may vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies and work location. Our benefits programs include: paid vacation and paid holidays, 401(k) plan with employer match, employee stock purchase plan, a variety of medical, dental and vision plan options, and more. We’re doing work that matters. Help us solve what others can’t.