SoC PnR Lead/ Principal Engineer

SoC PnR Lead / Principal Engineer

About Semifive

Founded in Seoul in 2019, SEMIFIVE is basing its foundation on Korea's semiconductor design competency that was amassed for more than 20 years. With expertise spanning front-end to back-end design, SEMIFIVE has become the fastest growing silicon design company that offers the most comprehensive design solutions. SEMIFIVE's core business is its innovative SoC Platform that enables low-cost and high-efficiency SoC design, and also provides full turnkey silicon design services for global customers.

As the cost of developing an SoC and the demand for customized silicon continue to grow rapidly, SEMIFIVE's SoC Platform plays a critical role in turning innovative ideas into silicon. SEMIFIVE works closely with global technology leaders and is rapidly emerging as The New Global Hub of Custom Silicon.

Semifive India Design Centre, headquartered in Bangalore, is a rapidly growing capability centre responsible for delivering complex, multi-node SoC programs for global customers across the US, Europe, and Asia. The India team owns RTL-to-GDS execution, including physical implementation, timing, power, and signoff for turnkey silicon programs.

Key Responsibilities

SoC Physical Implementation Leadership

• Own SoC-level physical implementation strategy and execution for complex, large-scale designs.
• Lead floorplanning, power planning, placement, CTS, routing, and signoff across multiple SoCs running in parallel.
• Act as the technical authority for PnR decisions, QoR trade-offs, and implementation signoff.

Execution & Technical Ownership

• Drive top-level floorplanning and partitioning, including macro placement, IO planning, and hierarchy definition.
• Own power grid architecture, IR/EM planning, and reliability signoff in collaboration with power integrity teams.
• Lead clocking architecture implementation, CTS strategy, and clock QoR optimization.
• Guide routing strategy, congestion mitigation, and late-stage ECO closure.
• Ensure timing, power, and area convergence in partnership with STA and synthesis teams.
• Own physical design signoff readiness, including DRC/LVS, IR/EM, antenna, and reliability checks.

Cross-Functional & Foundry Collaboration

• Work closely with RTL, STA, DFT, package, and foundry teams to ensure end-to-end physical convergence.
• Interface with foundry and EDA vendors on advanced-node implementation challenges and best practices.
• Support customer-facing design reviews, implementation status updates, and technical escalations.
• Collaborate with packaging teams on chip-package interaction (CPI) and IO/bumps planning.

Methodology & Team Development

• Define and standardize PnR methodologies, flows, and checklists across Semifive programs.
• Drive automation, scripting, and flow optimization to improve predictability and turnaround time.
• Mentor and develop physical design engineers and block leads, building strong technical depth.
• Establish tapeout readiness criteria and review physical signoff deliverables.

Qualifications

• B.E./B.Tech or M.E./M.Tech in Electrical / Electronics / VLSI Engineering.
• 12+ years of experience in ASIC physical design and PnR, with ownership of multiple full-chip SoC tapeouts.
• Proven expertise in:
• PnR tools: Cadence Innovus, Synopsys ICC2 / Fusion Compiler, or equivalent.
• Advanced-node physical design challenges (12nm and below).
• Strong hands-on experience in:
• Floorplanning and hierarchical implementation
• Power grid and IR/EM analysis (RedHawk, Voltus, or equivalent)
• Clock tree synthesis and optimization
• Routing congestion analysis and closure
• Physical verification (Calibre, Pegasus)
• Deep understanding of:
• Multi-voltage and low-power design (UPF/CPF)
• Scan and DFT physical integration
• ECO methodologies and late-stage fixes
• Experience working on large, complex SoCs with multiple power and clock domains.
• Strong leadership, debugging, and cross-functional communication skills.

Why Join Us?

At Semifive, the SoC PnR Lead plays a pivotal role in delivering first-time-right silicon. Unlike traditional large semiconductor companies where physical design roles can be narrowly scoped, Semifive offers broad ownership and real technical influence across the entire RTL-to-GDS flow.

You will work on multiple cutting-edge SoCs, partner with world-class teams across geographies, and help shape the physical design methodologies of a rapidly growing global organization.

This role offers the opportunity to define how complex silicon is physically realized at Semifive, while mentoring the next generation of physical design leaders.