Physical Design and Verification Engineer

About the Role

We are seeking a Senior Physical Design Engineer to own block-to-full-chip implementation and signoff on advanced-node, multi-die 3DIC products. You will drive hierarchical physical design from RTL handoff through tapeout, and lead the multi-physics verification (thermal, mechanical/warpage, and IR/EM) that is unique to stacked-die and chiplet-based systems. This role sits at the intersection of traditional block-level signoff and the emerging discipline of 3D system-level closure.

Key Responsibilities

Hierarchical Physical Design

Define and execute the hierarchical partitioning strategy: block boundaries, feedthroughs, pin placement, and budgeting across levels of hierarchy.

Develop and maintain floorplans, power grids, and timing/physical budgets for large multi-block SoCs.

Own the interface between block owners and top-level integration, including abstract (ILM/ETM) generation, boundary timing, and hierarchical ECO propagation.

Manage die-to-die partitioning for 3D stacks – assign logic to tiers, plan hybrid-bond / µbump / TSV interfaces, and align inter-die floorplans.

Block-level Implementation & Signoff

Synthesis: Drive logic synthesis (constraints, DFT insertion, physical-aware synthesis), QoR analysis, and RTL-to-gate correlation.

Floorplanning: Macro placement, power planning, congestion and timing feasibility, and pin/port optimization.

Placement & Optimization: Standard-cell placement, timing-driven and congestion-driven optimization, useful-skew and multi-corner/multi-mode closure.

CTS: Clock tree synthesis and clock distribution (including inter-die clocking for 3D), skew/latency balancing, and OCV/AOCV/POCV-aware clock closure.

Routing: Detailed routing, DRC/LVS convergence, signal integrity (crosstalk) closure, and antenna/via optimization.

Signoff: Static timing analysis (STA) across all corners/modes, physical verification (DRC/LVS/DFM), EM/IR (static and dynamic), and formal netlist equivalence.

3DIC Multi-Physics Verification

Thermal: Build and run thermal models for stacked dies; analyze junction temperatures, hotspot coupling between tiers, and thermal-aware placement; feed thermal gradients back into timing and reliability signoff.

Mechanical: Perform warpage, stress, and CTE-mismatch analysis for stacked/bonded assemblies; validate bump/TSV/hybrid-bond mechanical integrity and assembly-induced reliability risks.

IR / Power Integrity: Static and dynamic IR-drop analysis across the 3D power delivery network, including inter-die PDN, TSV/bump resistance, decap strategy, and package-aware PI closure.

Correlate thermal, mechanical, and electrical effects such as thermal-induced timing derates and stress-induced device shifts into a coherent 3D signoff methodology.

Methodology & Collaboration

Develop, document, and automate PnR and signoff flows (scripting, regression, QoR tracking).

Partner with packaging, design, DFT, DV, and CAD teams to align die/package/system co-design.

Debug convergence issues and drive root-cause analysis across timing, physical, and multi-physics domains.

Required Qualifications

BS/MS in Electrical/Computer Engineering (or equivalent) with 5+ years of physical design experience; MS preferred.

Proven full-cycle RTL-to-GDSII experience on advanced nodes (7nm/5nm/4nm/3nm or comparable).

Hands-on hierarchical/top-level implementation on large (multi-million instance) designs.

Strong command of STA concepts (setup/hold, OCV/AOCV/POCV, MMMC) and physical verification signoff.

Proficiency with industry PnR and signoff tools (e.g., Cadence Innovus/Genus/Tempus/Voltus, Synopsys ICC2/Fusion Compiler/PrimeTime/StarRC, Siemens Calibre) and TCL scripting.

Preferred / Differentiating Qualifications

Direct experience with 3DIC / 2.5D / chiplet implementation: TSVs, µbumps, hybrid bonding, interposers.

Multi-physics analysis experience with tools such as Ansys RedHawk-SC, Cadence Voltus/Celsius/Integrity 3D-IC, or Synopsys 3DIC Compiler.

Familiarity with thermal-aware and stress-aware design closure and die/package co-analysis.

Python/scripting for flow automation and data analysis; experience with regression/QoR frameworks.

Knowledge of reliability signoff (EM, aging/self-heat, ESD) in a 3D context.

Expected Compensation:

The anticipated base salary for this position is expected to be within the following range. Your actual base pay will be determined by your job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. We also believe in aligning our employees’ success with the company's long-term growth. As such, in addition to base salary, Neuralink offers equity compensation (in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSU)) for all full-time employees.

Base Salary Range:

$131,000—$265,000 USD