About the role
Role Overview
We are seeking an executive technical leader to head our Physical Design (PD) engineering organization. Overseeing a team of 100+ PD engineers, you will drive execution from synthesis, floorplanning, CTS, and routing through to final timing, power, and physical sign-off on advanced nodes ( 5nm 3nm).
This role requires scale management, customer-facing executive leadership, and deep hands-on expertise to jump into technical blockages when high-stakes tape-outs encounter complex floorplanning, STA, or IR-drop challenges.
Key Responsibilities
1. Team & Resource Management (100+ Engineers)
- Lead, structure, and scale a 100+ engineer Physical Design unit, including Directors, Engineering Managers, and Principal PD Architects.
- Drive global headcount planning, project allocation, cross-site resource utilization, and skill development across implementation, timing, and physical verification tracks.
2. Hands-On Technical Authority & Execution
- Serve as the ultimate technical escalation point for RTL-to-GDSII implementation: Synthesis, Place & Route (P&R), Clock Tree Synthesis (CTS), Static Timing Analysis (STA), EM/IR drop analysis, and DRC/LVS physical verification.
- Actively participate in architecture reviews, critical floorplan closures, low-power strategies (UPF/CPF), and high-frequency clock design for complex SOCs.
- Establish unified scripting (Tcl/Python), CAD flow automation, and compute-farm usage protocols to maximize throughput across all active projects.
3. Client Handling & Account Management
- Act as the senior executive escalation point for external semiconductor clients and Tier-1 stakeholders regarding physical design delivery, tape-out schedules, and technical risks.
- Partner with client leadership during pre-silicon scoping, statement-of-work (SOW) definitions, and technology node selection (foundry PDKs, IP integration, 2.5D/3D packaging).
Required Qualifications
- Education: B.Tech / M.Tech / M.S. in Electrical Engineering, VLSI, or Microelectronics.
- Experience: 18+ years in semiconductor implementation, with at least 4+ years leading Physical Design organizations of 80100+ engineers.
- Tape-out Proven: Direct ownership of multiple successful tape-outs on advanced nodes (7nm, 5nm, 3nm).
- Technical Depth: Ability to debug critical path closure, high-density placement bottlenecks, and complex sign-off violations directly with technical leads.
- Client Presence: Proven track record in customer-facing roles, managing SLAs, and running program steering committees.
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