Physical Design Methodology CAD Engineer

Apple • Austin, TX

20h

About The Position

As part of Apple’s Hardware Technology CAD team within the Silicon Technologies group, this engineer will help design next-generation, high-performance, power-efficient system-on-chips. The role supports CPU, GPU, analog/mixed-signal, and SoC designs by developing flows, tools, and methodologies for future Apple products. It includes enabling new technology nodes, standard cells, and tools; collaborating with design teams and EDA vendors to improve power, performance, area (PPA), and design productivity; and using CAD algorithms, machine learning, and generative AI to develop internal methodologies and productivity applications. The work will affect chips used across Apple products.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science degree or equivalent minimum educational requirement; the posting specifies a minimum requirement of BS.
• Knowledge of Tcl, Python, or Perl scripting languages.
• Good understanding of VLSI and physical design basics through coursework or internships.
• Exposure to CAD tools, CAD flows, or physical design methodology.
• Understanding of physical design analyses such as extraction, timing, noise, physical verification, and EMIR.

Responsibilities

• Participate in and engage with cross-functional teams to address physical design challenges.
• Develop innovative solutions in physical design and optimization.
• Develop and support implementation flows for multiple projects and design teams.
• Develop and maintain custom CAD tools for implementation and signoff.
• Create flows to enable successful deployment of new technology nodes.
• Develop tools and methodologies for improved PPA and productivity, including machine-learning-based solutions.
• Use generative AI tools to develop applications that improve design-team productivity.
• Collaborate with teams working on physical design verification, RC extraction, IR, and static timing analysis (STA).
• Work with EDA tool vendors to resolve tool issues and identify opportunities for tool improvements.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time