Etched · 17 hours ago
Physical Design Engineer
San Jose, CA
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
5+ years expEtched is building the world’s first AI inference system purpose-built for transformers, and they are seeking exceptional Physical Design engineers to join their team. The role involves owning block-level implementation and verification, driving timing closure and PPA optimization, and supervising 3rd party design work.
AI InfrastructureArtificial Intelligence (AI)ComputerHardwareSemiconductor
Responsibilities
Deeply understand what is involved in physical design
Running PD flows to close blocks, support ASIC infrastructure, automate PD flows, improve CAD infrastructure
Collaborate with RTL Designers and provide Physical Design feedback to improve PPA
Drive dashboards that show the convergence of projects related to PD
Optimize tool flows, working with EDA vendors to incorporate the latest features
Accountable for block level closure
Supervise the outsourcing of physical design to a 3rd party service
Qualification
Required
5-10+ years of previous experience with PD
Tools, flow, and design methodology from RTL synthesis to GDSII sign-off
Experience with back-end design and timing closure on advanced process nodes (5nm and below)
Experience with Cadence (Innovus, Genus) or Synopsys (ICC2, 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
Deeply creative and able to think from first principles
Preferred
Familiarity with transformer models and machine learning
Ability to program with Python or another scripting language
Familiarity with AI tools for programming/coding
Startup experience or comfort working in fast-paced environments
Benefits
Medical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage
$500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits
Housing subsidy of $2k per month for those living within walking distance of the office
Relocation support for those moving to San Jose (Santana Row)
Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and more
Daily lunch + dinner in our office
Company
Etched
Building the hardware for superintelligence
51-200 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Etched has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (9)
2024 (11)
2023 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageTotal Funding
$625.36MKey Investors
StripesPrimary Venture Partners
2026-01-14Series Unknown· $500M
2024-06-25Series A· $120M
2023-05-16Seed· $5.36M
Leadership Team
Chris Zhu
Co-Founder
Robert Wachen
Co-Founder and President
Recent News
alleywatch.com
2026-01-20
2026-01-20
2026-01-16
Company data provided by crunchbase