Principal SOC Physical Verification & Integration Specialist

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The Role

We are seeking a thorough SOC Physical Verification & Integration Specialist to drive the physical assembly and signoff of our next-generation SOCs. In this role, you will own the physical integration strategy from the floorplan stage through to tapeout, ensuring seamless assembly of massive multi-hierarchical blocks. You will act as the critical bridge between block-level implementation, top-level integration, and final foundry signoff, ensuring that complex physical bottlenecks are resolved without compromising power, performance, or area (PPA).

Key Responsibilities
* Top-Level Physical Integration: Drive the full-chip physical assembly of very large-scale SOCs (e.g., multi-billion transistor designs). Manage top-level floorplanning, bump planning, global power grid (PG) integration, and top-level clock/routing integration.
* Hierarchical Verification Methodology: Architect and deploy highly efficient, hierarchical physical verification (PV) flows. Define the boundary conditions, abstraction models, and interface rules required to assemble heavily partitioned, massive-scale designs.
* Signoff Execution & Debugging: Own full-chip DRC, LVS, ERC, Antenna, ESD, and Latch-up signoff using industry-standard tools (e.g., Siemens Calibre) at advanced process nodes (5nm, 3nm, or below).
* Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner tightly with the Physical Design (PD) and Static Timing Analysis (STA) teams. Proactively resolve integration conflicts—such as top-level routing congestion or interface timing violations—ensuring that physical fixes do not disrupt timing closure.
* Design Rule Co-Optimization: Work directly with foundry partners to interpret complex design rules and waive or resolve edge-case violations specific to reticle-limit designs.
* Automation & Flow Development: Develop robust scripts and utilities to automate physical integration tasks, database merging, and PV result parsing to accelerate the tapeout cycle.

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Required Qualifications
* Experience: 14 + years of hands-on experience in SOC physical design and physical verification, with a proven track record of taping out very large, complex SOCs (e.g., Datacenter, AI accelerators, or High-Performance Compute chips).
* Technical Domain Expertise: * Deep understanding of the entire RTL-to-GDSII flow, with expert-level knowledge of physical integration challenges in flat vs. hierarchical methodologies.
* Strong foundational understanding of Physical Design and Static Timing Analysis (STA) to effectively communicate with implementation teams and assess the timing impact of PV fixes.

* Tool Proficiency: * Mastery of top-level integration tools (Cadence Innovus).
* Expertise in physical verification suites (e.g., Siemens Calibre nmDRC/nLVS/PERC, Synopsys IC Validator).
* Familiarity with chip/package co-design and bump planning tools.

* Programming/Scripting: High proficiency in Tcl, Python, and/or Perl for EDA flow automation and database manipulation.

* Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.

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Preferred Qualifications
* Experience with multi-die integration, 2.5D/3D packaging, or chiplet-based architectures.
* Previous experience leading tapeout operations for start-up or fast-paced advanced technology environments.
* Advanced knowledge of custom layout integration and mixed-signal IP drop-in