Senior Physical Design Engineer

EnCharge AI is a leader in advanced AI hardware and software systems for edge-to-cloud computing. EnCharge’s robust and scalable next-generation in-memory computing technology provides orders-of-magnitude higher compute efficiency and density compared to today’s best-in-class solutions. The high-performance architecture is coupled with seamless software integration and will enable the immense potential of AI to be accessible in power, energy, and space constrained applications. EnCharge AI launched in 2022 and is led by veteran technologists with backgrounds in semiconductor design and AI systems.

Job Title: Senior Physical Design Engineer

Experience: 4–7 Years

Focus: Block-Level RTL-to-GDSII & PPA Optimization

Location: Bangalore Hybrid

The Role

We are looking for a high-energy, technically curious Physical Design Engineer to join our advanced silicon team. This isn't a role for someone who wants to just "push buttons" on a vendor flow.

We need a driver—someone with 4–6 years of experience who has lived through the trenches of quality tape-outs and is hungry to take full ownership of complex partitions.

You will be expected to work with a high degree of independence, using your analytical skills to bridge the gap between a standard recipe and a world-class PPA result .

You should be comfortable following expert lead direction while maintaining the "question the status-quo" mindset when you see a more efficient path.

Key Responsibilities

Partition Ownership: Lead the physical implementation of complex blocks from Synthesis and Floor-planning through to CTS, Routing, and Sign-off.

PPA Recipe Development: Don't just run the flow—optimize it. You will perform deep-dive analysis on timing paths, power profiles, and congestion to derive custom optimization strategies.

Automation-First Mindset: Use Tcl and Python to automate repetitive tasks, build custom analysis scripts, and enhance the efficiency of the physical design environment.

Independent Convergence: Take a partition from "dirty" RTL to a clean GDSII, resolving complex DRC/LVS, IR drop, and timing violations with minimal supervision.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with RTL and DFT teams to "left-shift" physical constraints, ensuring the design is optimized for routing and timing from the start.

Technical Requirements

Category

Requirement

Experience

4–7 years in Physical Design with at least 2–3 successful tape-outs.

Tool Mastery

Solid hands-on experience with industry-standard EDA tools ( Cadence Innovus/Tempus ).

Automation

Proficient in Tcl (for tool control) and Python (for data parsing and flow automation).

PPA Skills

Proven ability to analyse and improve Power, Performance, and Area through floor-planning and placement tuning.

Analysis

Strong debugging skills in STA (Static Timing Analysis), EM/IR, and Physical Verification (DRC/LVS/ERC).

The Ideal Candidate Profile

High "Workability" Quotient: You are coachable and can execute on complex instructions, but you possess the critical thinking to flag "status quo" processes that are inefficient.

The "Detective" Mindset: When a tool fails or timing won't close, you don't just restart the run; you dig into the logs and data to find the root cause.

Driven & Independent: You have a "get it done" attitude and pride yourself on your ability to unblock yourself through research and experimentation.

Curiosity: Understand the psychology of the tool and drive it as an expert driver.