Etched
Physical Design Engineer - Full Chip Implementation
San Jose · Senior
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About the role
- Etched is building a new category of AI hardware: frontier inference clusters.
- As a top-level PD engineer, you will own full-chip implementation-encompassing floorplanning, P&R, clocking, timing analysis, physical verification, and sign-offs-from synthesis through to GDSII completion.
- You will lead critical efforts in these areas, leveraging our PD flows to drive aggressive PPA optimization and timing closure.
Responsibilities
- Own full-chip clocking across all PVT corners and modes.
- Manage MMMC (Multi-Mode Multi-Corner) timing closure at the top level.
- Own timing constraints and hierarchical timing budgeting between top level and blocks.
- Drive functional and timing ECO closure and achieve final timing signoff for tapeout.
- Own end-to-end physical verification closure at block, sub-system, and full-chip level across DRC, LVS, ERC, antenna, density, fill, and top-level integration.
- Build a repeatable, tapeout-ready PV methodology with clean runs, waiver discipline, version control, triage, and final signoff reviews.
- Relocation support for those moving to San Jose (Santana Row)
Requirements
- 10+ years of previous experience with chip planning, top level PD, floorplanning
- Experience with top-level and full-chip closure on advanced process nodes (5nm and below)
- Experience with Cadence (Innovus, Genus) or Synopsys (Fusion Compiler) automated RTL-to-GDSII flows
- Experience with Synopsys PrimeTime and Cadence Tempus for timing signoff
- Experience with Pegasus or Calibre for physical verification signoff
- Experience with hierarchical timing budgeting, constraint management, and ECO closure
- Experience with Cadence Innovus for top-level assembly, routing, and layout fixes
- Familiarity with modern ML and LLM model architectures
- Ability to program with Python or another scripting language
- Familiarity with AI tools for programming/coding
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage
- $500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits
- Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and more
Company info
- We are the first inference-focused frontier AI system.
- We are a fully in-person team in San Jose (Santana Row), and greatly value engineering skills.
This listing is sourced directly from Etched's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.