A VLSI Physical Design Engineer is responsible for converting a circuit (netlist) into a manufacturable chip layout while meeting performance, power, and area (PPA) targets.

Here’s a transparent, industry-style job description (JD) you can use:

Job Title: Physical Design Engineer (VLSI)

Job Overview

Responsible for end-to-end physical design implementation of ASIC/SoC blocks from synthesis to GDSII, ensuring timing closure, signal integrity, and manufacturability.

Key Responsibilities
Floorplanning

Define chip/block size, aspect ratio

Macro placement (SRAM, IP blocks)

Power planning (VDD/VSS grids, rings)
Placement

Standard cell placement

Optimize for timing, congestion, and power
Clock Tree Synthesis (CTS)

Build clock tree for low skew and latency

Handle clock gating and balancing
Routing

Global and detailed routing

Fix congestion, DRC violations
Timing Closure

Setup & hold fixing

Use STA tools (timing analysis)

Buffer insertion, cell sizing
Physical Verification

DRC (Design Rule Check)

LVS (Layout vs Schematic)

Antenna and ERC checks
Sign-off Checks





IR drop analysis

Electromigration (EM) checks

Parasitic extraction (RC extraction)
ECO Implementation

Engineering Change Orders for last-minute fixes

Required Skills

Technical Skills

Valuable understanding of:

CMOS fundamentals

Timing concepts (setup, hold, skew)

RC parasitics

Tools knowledge:

Cadence (Innovus)

Synopsys (ICC2, PrimeTime)

Scripting:

TCL (must-have)

Basic Unix/Linux commands

Preferred Skills

Low power design techniques

Multi-voltage domain handling

Experience in advanced nodes (7nm, 5nm, etc.)

Educational Qualification

B.E / B.Tech / M.Tech in Electronics / VLSI / ECE

Experience Levels

0–2 Years (Fresher/Junior)

Basic PD flow understanding

Assist in placement, routing, DRC fixing,Aligo ,Alt Tm

2–5 Years

Handle full block-level design

Timing closure independently

5+ Years

Lead block/chip-level design

Handle sign-off and mentoring

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📌 Vlsi Physical Design Engineer Bengaluru
🏢 Vtricks Technologies
📍 Bengaluru