Principal Physical Design Engineer

Microsoft
US2026-07-14onsite

About the job

Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) is the team behind Microsoft’s expanding Cloud Infrastructure and responsible for powering Microsoft’s “Intelligent Cloud” mission. We are looking for a Principal Physical Design Engineer to join the team to work on Microsoft Next-Gen AI SOC chip. If hired, you will be responsible for delivering TFM (tool, flow and methodology) of Physical Design tasks at block, sub-chip, and/or full-chip level.

Responsibilities

Lead the PnR convergence recipe development for designs at blocks/subsystem and subchip level

Develop and implement methodologies and strategies to improve physical design efficiency and performance

Develop and implement methodologies and strategies to sign off blocks, subsystem/Subchip in the areas of static timing analysis, physical verification, functional logics equivalence, low power verification and electromigration and IR drop

Implementation of functional and timing ECO with least physical design impact

Design and implement the global clocking scheme at SOC and sub chip levels

Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies to continuously improve physical design processes and methodologies

Installation and quality check of internal and external IP collaterals for use by Physical Design execution team

Conduct physical design reviews, identify and resolve design issues, and provide guidance to junior engineers.

Qualifications

Minimum

Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 3+ years technical engineering experience OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience.

Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role.

Preferred

Bachelor's or Master’s in Electrical or Computer Engineering or related field with 10+ years of experience

Experience in tapeouts of complex ASICs in leading edge technology

10+ years of experience in blocks level place and route and

Expertise in one or more of physical design EDA tools such as Synopsys Fusion Compiler, PrimeClosure, Primetime, Formality, VCLP, Star-RC, Redhawk SC, and Cadence Innovus; Siemens Calibre.

Strong understanding of semiconductor design principles, methodologies, and tools.

Proven track record of successfully leading physical design projects and delivering high-quality semiconductor products

Adequate scripting skillsets in TCL and Python

Good understanding of foundry tech files and rule decks