Principal ASIC Physical Design Engineer

K2 Space

17h•$190,000 - $280,000

About The Position

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers – we’re mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space. The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today’s and tomorrow’s massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits. With multiple launches planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series C space startup, we’d love for you to apply. The Role We are looking for a Principal ASIC Physical Design Engineer to lead the implementation of complex SoCs for next-generation satellite and space systems. You will own the full physical design flow—from RTL handoff to GDSII—and collaborate closely with architecture, RTL design, DFT, and packaging teams. This role also involves managing external physical design partners, driving tool and flow decisions, and ensuring first-pass silicon success in advanced FinFET technologies. You’ll be a key contributor in achieving timing closure, optimizing PPA, and supporting design integration with external partners. You will be part of a collaborative design team developing state-of-the-art mixed-signal SoCs to be hosted on some of the largest, most powerful, rapidly designed and rapidly manufactured satellites ever deployed in space. In your first 6 months, you will develop and implement new SoC sub-systems for satellite communications and beyond. In your first two years, you will have contributed to developing cutting-edge SoCs that will fly in space.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
10+ years of experience in ASIC physical design for high-performance SoCs.
Proven end-to-end expertise in RTL-to-GDSII flows using industry tools (Synopsys, Cadence, or Siemens).
Strong hands-on experience with timing closure, IR drop analysis, and ECO implementation.
Deep understanding of physical design constraints for multi-clock, multi-voltage, and hierarchical SoCs.
Experience with advanced FinFET process nodes.
Prior experience managing or coordinating offshore/outsourced PD teams or vendors.
Familiarity with DFT integration, STA sign-off, and power domain implementation (UPF/CPF).
Excellent communication, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Act as technical leader and subject-matter expert helping to teach, grow, and mentor others in the team.

Nice To Haves

Exposure to radiation-hardened or space-qualified ASICs.
Experience with chip-package co-design or advanced packaging (2.5D/3D).
Familiarity with physical design service vendor management or offshore collaboration.
Experience driving tapeouts through TSMC.
Experience with Gate-All-Around technologies.
Experience working in cross-functional, geographically distributed teams.

Responsibilities

Own the complete RTL-to-GDSII flow: synthesis, floorplanning, place & route, clock tree synthesis (CTS), static timing analysis (STA), physical verification (DRC/LVS), and sign-off.
Develop and maintain physical design methodologies, scripts, and automation to optimize performance, power, and area (PPA).
Collaborate with front-end and verification teams to ensure clean handoffs, timing closure, and efficient design iteration.
Drive timing closure across multiple voltage and process corners, including sign-off with foundry-qualified tools.
Partner with package, SI/PI, and test teams for package-aware floorplanning and chip-to-board integration.
Manage and technically guide external physical design partners and service vendors, ensuring alignment on milestones, deliverables, and quality standards.
Work with EDA vendors to debug and optimize tool flows, and evaluate new methodologies.
Support chip bring-up and debug through close collaboration with post-silicon and test teams.
Support your product through production and spaceflight.