Senior Physical Design Engineer

NVIDIA is hiring a Senior Physical Design Engineer in Santa Clara, United States. It pays $168k-$265k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on NVIDIA.

Level's read on this job

On Level's scale, this role is Little AI ●○○○: aI is not part of the work.
Level classes it as a senior role.
NVIDIA has 2,600+ other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

We are now looking for a motivated Physical Design Engineer to join our dynamic and growing team. If you want to challenge yourself and be a part of something great, join us today! NVIDIA has continuously reinvented itself over two decades. Our invention of the GPU in 1999 sparked the growth of the PC gaming market, redefined modern computer graphics, and revolutionized parallel computing!

More recently, GPU deep learning ignited modern AI - the next era of computing. NVIDIA is a "learning machine" that constantly evolves by adapting to new opportunities which are hard to tackle, that only we can pursue, and that matter to the world. This is our life's work, to amplify human inventiveness and intelligence.

What you'll be doing:

Drive physical design and timing from netlist to gds.
Partner with mixed signal teams to integrate Analog IO’s and macros.
Work on multi-mode and multi-corner timing closure, RC extraction, Cross talk, IR drop and EM analysis.
Work with the Front-end teams to create and update timing constraints.
Perform Physical verification DRC, ERC, LVS, Antenna checks and other checks.
Debugging timing violations and implementing functional, Timing ECO’s and perform formal verification.

What we need to see:

BS (or equivalent experience) in Electrical or Computer Engineering with 6+ years' experience or MS (or equivalent experience) with 3+ years' experience in physical design.
Experienced in Synopsys or Cadence place and route, physical design and timing tools.
Ability to form methodologies and automate flows.
Scan insertion and DFT knowledge is a plus

Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and other objective job-related factors. The expected base salary ranges for this position are:
168,000 USD – 264,500 USD for Level 4; and 196,000 USD – 310,500 USD for Level 5.

You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Applications for this job will be accepted at least until November 3, 2026.

This posting is for an existing vacancy.

NVIDIA uses AI tools in its recruiting processes.

NVIDIA is committed to fostering an inclusive work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.

How we rate this

Senior Physical Design Engineer at NVIDIA rates 25 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.