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Physical Design Engineer - Block Level, Subsystem Implementation

Etched· ASIC
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San Jose$200k - $375kFull-timePosted 2mo ago

About the role

Etched is building a new category of AI hardware: frontier inference clusters. As a Physical Design Engineer, you will own block-level implementation from synthesis through GDSII sign-off, drive Block-level & Subsystem PPA Optimization, and collaborate with RTL designers to iterate quickly and bring products to market.

Responsibilities

  • Own block-level and/or subsystem physical design end to end, including floorplanning, synthesis, placement, clock tree synthesis, and routing through GDSII.
  • Drive block-level timing closure across all corners and modes, including constraint development, STA debug, and functional and timing ECO implementation.
  • Close block-level signoff across EM, IR drop, RC extraction and correlation, and physical verification (DRC, LVS, antenna).
  • Generate abstracts, views, and timing budgets for clean hierarchical integration of your blocks into the top level.
  • Collaborate with RTL Designers and provide Physical Design feedback to improve PPA.
  • Continuously improve the PPA of owned blocks and contribute learnings back into the shared RTL-to-GDSII flow.
  • Supervise physical design work outsourced to 3rd party services and be accountable for the quality and closure of delivered blocks.

Qualifications

  • 5-10+ years of previous experience with PD
  • Tools, flow, and design methodology from RTL synthesis to GDSII sign-off
  • Experience with back-end design and timing closure on advanced process nodes (5nm and below)
  • Experience with Cadence (Innovus, Genus) or Synopsys (Fusion Compiler) automated RTL-to-GDSII flows
  • Experience with sign-off tools (PrimeTime, Tempus, Voltus, etc.)
  • Experience with UPF-based low power design methodology, power verification, synthesis, scan insertion/ATPG, formal verification, floorplanning, placement, CTS, routing, IR drop, and EM/antenna analysis
  • Scripting ability in Tcl, Python, or Perl for flow automation and debug
  • Deeply creative and able to think from first principles

Skills

Required:Block-level physical designTiming closureSign-offRTL collaborationPPA optimization
Nice to have:Outsourcing supervision

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage
  • $500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits
  • Housing subsidy of $2.5k per month for those living within walking distance of the office
  • Relocation support for those moving to San Jose (Santana Row)
  • Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and more
  • Daily lunch and dinner in our office
  • Unlimited compute budget subject to ROI justification
Last updated Oct 15, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
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About Etched

Etched is building frontier inference clusters: co-designs chips, racks, software and manufacturing to push the pareto frontier for AI hardware.

frontier inference clustersAI hardwarechipsrackssoftwaremanufacturingparto frontier
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