Physical Design Engineer II

Cisco

Physical Design Engineer at Cisco focusing on the technical execution of high-performance ASIC designs and RTL-to-GDSII implementation.

Posted 5/21/2026full-timeMaynard • Massachusetts, Texas • 🇺🇸 United StatesJuniorMid-Level💰 $123,600 - $200,100 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

PerlPython

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

focus on the technical execution of high-performance ASIC designs
own the RTL-to-GDSII implementation flow for advanced semiconductor nodes
responsible for the successful delivery of assigned blocks from specification through to tapeout
Implement end-to-end RTL-to-GDSII implementation for advanced nodes (sub-7nm)
Perform floor planning, place and route, and clock/power distribution
Conduct static timing analysis (STA) and drive timing closure for multi-mode/multi-corner designs
Manage the physical design of assigned blocks
Collaborate with the Physical Design team to debug and resolve complex physical implementation issues
Implement ECO strategies and support sign-off processes
Contribute to the refinement of design methodologies and standard processes within the engineering team
Document and track progress for assigned project achievements

Requirements

What you’ll need

Completion, within the past 3 years, or current enrollment with expected completion within 12 months, a Bachelors + 2 years of relevant experience or Masters + 0 years of relevant experience
Relevant fields include Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related field
Hands-on experience in ASIC physical design and implementation
Working knowledge with hierarchical floorplanning, clock and power distribution, global signal and I/O planning along with physical convergence, timing closure, and hierarchical design methodology
Understanding power integrity and EMIR analysis
Experience with Scripting using languages such as TCL, Perl, Python, etc.
Place & Route experience using tools such as Cadence Innovus or Synopsys ICC2
Experience formal equivalence check, timing closure, EMIR, physical verification DRC/LVS
Experience with block level EMIR closure
Physical Verification experience including tools such as Synopsys ICV or Mentor Calibre

Benefits

Comp & perks

medical, dental and vision insurance
a 401(k) plan with a Cisco matching contribution
paid parental leave
short and long-term disability coverage
basic life insurance
10 paid holidays per full calendar year, plus 1 floating holiday
1 paid day off for employee’s birthday
paid year-end holiday shutdown
4 paid days off for personal wellness
16 days of paid vacation time per full calendar year
flexible vacation time off program
80 hours of sick time off provided on hire date
additional paid time away may be requested to deal with critical or emergency issues
Optional 10 paid days per full calendar year to volunteer

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Hard Skills & Tools

ASIC designRTL-to-GDSII implementationstatic timing analysisfloor planningplace and routeclock distributionpower distributionECO strategiestiming closurephysical design

Soft Skills

collaborationproblem-solvingdocumentationproject management