Etched
Physical Design Engineer - Block Level, Subsystem 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 Physical Design Engineer, you will own block-level implementation from synthesis through GDSII sign-off.
- You will drive Block-level & Subsystem PPA Optimization, and collaborate closely with RTL designers to provide actionable feedback, ensuring we iterate at unprecedented speeds to bring our 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.
- Collaborate with RTL Designers and provide Physical Design feedback to improve PPA.
- Supervise physical design work outsourced to 3rd party services and be accountable for the quality and closure of delivered blocks.
- Tools, flow, and design methodology from RTL synthesis to GDSII sign-off
- Relocation support for those moving to San Jose (Santana Row)
Requirements
- 5-10+ years of previous experience with PD
- 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
- Familiarity with modern ML and LLM model architectures
- Ability to program with Python or another scripting language
- Familiarity with AI tools for programming/coding
- You may be a good fit if you have
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.