We are looking for a Principal Physical Design Engineer to join the team. #SCHIE Responsibilities We are looking to expand our Physical Design Engineer team in US with immediate hiring of a few ...
We are looking for a Principal Physical Design Engineer to join the team. #SCHIE Responsibilities We are looking to expand our Physical Design Engineer team in US with immediate hiring of a few ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
San Jose, CA · On-site
$150K - $250K/yr
We are seeking an experienced Principal Physical Design Engineer to lead the transformation of complex circuit designs into high-quality, manufacturable silicon. In this role, you will drive all ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
San Jose, CA · On-site
$150K - $250K/yr
We are seeking an experienced Principal Physical Design Engineer to lead the transformation of complex circuit designs into high-quality, manufacturable silicon. In this role, you will drive all ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · On-site
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as 'Hybrid' with an expectation that you will work on average 2 days per week from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · On-site
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as 'Hybrid' with an expectation that you will work on average 2 days per week from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · Hybrid
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as 'Hybrid' with an expectation that you will work on average 2 days per week from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · Hybrid
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as 'Hybrid' with an expectation that you will work on average 2 days per week from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · Hybrid
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as 'Hybrid' with an expectation that you will work on average 2 days per week from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · Hybrid
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as 'Hybrid' with an expectation that you will work on average 2 days per week from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · Hybrid
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as 'Hybrid' with an expectation that you will work on average 2 days per week from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · Hybrid
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as 'Hybrid' with an expectation that you will work on average 2 days per week from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as ''Onsite' with an expectation that you will primarily work from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as ''Onsite' with an expectation that you will primarily work from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · On-site
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as ''Onsite' with an expectation that you will primarily work from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Sunnyvale, CA · On-site
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as ''Onsite' with an expectation that you will primarily work from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as ''Onsite' with an expectation that you will primarily work from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as ''Onsite' with an expectation that you will primarily work from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as ''Onsite' with an expectation that you will primarily work from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
$159K - $164K/yr
Principal Physical Design Engineer This role has been designed as ''Onsite' with an expectation that you will primarily work from an HPE office. Who We Are: Hewlett Packard Enterprise is the global ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer, STA
$159K - $164K/yr
Overview As an Astera Labs Principal Physical Design Engineer (STA) you will play a crucial role in driving the planning, coordination, and execution supporting the design of Astera Labs' portfolio ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer, STA
$159K - $164K/yr
Overview As an Astera Labs Principal Physical Design Engineer (STA) you will play a crucial role in driving the planning, coordination, and execution supporting the design of Astera Labs' portfolio ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Mountain View, CA · On-site
$188K - $304K/yr
We are looking for a Principal Physical Design Engineer to join the team. #SCHIE Responsibilities * Lead and execute Physical Design activities at block, sub-chip, and full-chip levels. * Contribute ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer
Mountain View, CA · On-site
$188K - $304K/yr
We are looking for a Principal Physical Design Engineer to join the team. #SCHIE Responsibilities * Lead and execute Physical Design activities at block, sub-chip, and full-chip levels. * Contribute ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer, STA
San Jose, CA · On-site
$159K - $164K/yr
Overview As an Astera Labs Principal Physical Design Engineer (STA) you will play a crucial role in driving the planning, coordination, and execution supporting the design of Astera Labs' portfolio ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer, STA
San Jose, CA · On-site
$159K - $164K/yr
Overview As an Astera Labs Principal Physical Design Engineer (STA) you will play a crucial role in driving the planning, coordination, and execution supporting the design of Astera Labs' portfolio ...
Senior or Principal Physical Design Engineer
$150K - $250K/yr
We are seeking an experienced Senior or Principal Physical Design Engineer to lead the transformation of complex circuit designs into high-quality, manufacturable silicon. In this role, you will ...
Quick apply
Senior or Principal Physical Design Engineer
$150K - $250K/yr
We are seeking an experienced Senior or Principal Physical Design Engineer to lead the transformation of complex circuit designs into high-quality, manufacturable silicon. In this role, you will ...
Senior or Principal Physical Design Engineer
$150K - $250K/yr
We are seeking an experienced Senior or Principal Physical Design Engineer to lead the transformation of complex circuit designs into high-quality, manufacturable silicon. In this role, you will ...
Quick apply
Senior or Principal Physical Design Engineer
$150K - $250K/yr
We are seeking an experienced Senior or Principal Physical Design Engineer to lead the transformation of complex circuit designs into high-quality, manufacturable silicon. In this role, you will ...
Senior/Principal Physical Design Engineer
San Jose, CA · On-site
$150K - $250K/yr
We are seeking an experienced Physical Design Engineer to lead the transformation of complex circuit designs into high-quality, manufacturable silicon. In this role, you will drive all aspects of the ...
Senior/Principal Physical Design Engineer
San Jose, CA · On-site
$150K - $250K/yr
We are seeking an experienced Physical Design Engineer to lead the transformation of complex circuit designs into high-quality, manufacturable silicon. In this role, you will drive all aspects of the ...
As an Eliyan Principal Physical Design Engineer, you will be working at a fast-paced early-stage startup creating technologies that fuel tomorrow's chiplet based systems with best-in-class power ...
Quick apply
As an Eliyan Principal Physical Design Engineer, you will be working at a fast-paced early-stage startup creating technologies that fuel tomorrow's chiplet based systems with best-in-class power ...
Principal PCB Physical Design Engineer
Santa Clara, CA · On-site
$203K/yr
As a Principal CAD PCB Physical Design Engineer in the Network Technology Solutions Group, NTSG, you will be responsible for the PCB physical design and the technology development for AMD NTSG ...
Principal PCB Physical Design Engineer
Santa Clara, CA · On-site
$203K/yr
As a Principal CAD PCB Physical Design Engineer in the Network Technology Solutions Group, NTSG, you will be responsible for the PCB physical design and the technology development for AMD NTSG ...
As a Principal CAD PCB Physical Design Engineer in the Network Technology Solutions Group, NTSG, you will be responsible for the PCB physical design and the technology development for AMD NTSG ...
As a Principal CAD PCB Physical Design Engineer in the Network Technology Solutions Group, NTSG, you will be responsible for the PCB physical design and the technology development for AMD NTSG ...
Physical Design Engineer
San Jose, CA · On-site
$105K - $120K/yr
As a Physical Design Engineer, you will support block-level and/or top-level physical design implementation activities across FPGA product development. You will work closely with cross-functional ...
Physical Design Engineer
San Jose, CA · On-site
$105K - $120K/yr
As a Physical Design Engineer, you will support block-level and/or top-level physical design implementation activities across FPGA product development. You will work closely with cross-functional ...
Principal Physical Design Engineer information
See salary details
$74K - $86.6K
3% of jobs
$86.6K - $99.2K
9% of jobs
$99.2K - $111.8K
9% of jobs
$118.1K is the 25th percentile. Wages below this are outliers.
$111.8K - $124.4K
10% of jobs
$124.4K - $137K
10% of jobs
The median wage is $146.6K / yr.
$137K - $149.5K
14% of jobs
$149.5K - $162.1K
13% of jobs
$169.8K is the 75th percentile. Wages above this are outliers.
$162.1K - $174.7K
15% of jobs
$174.7K - $187.3K
11% of jobs
$187.3K - $199.9K
5% of jobs
$199.9K - $212.5K
3% of jobs
$74K
$147.2K
$212.5K
How much do principal physical design engineer jobs pay per year?
What is the difference between Principal Physical Design Engineer vs Physical Design Engineer?
| Aspect | Principal Physical Design Engineer | Physical Design Engineer |
|---|---|---|
| Credentials | Bachelor's/Master's in Electrical Engineering or related; extensive experience | Bachelor's/Master's in Electrical Engineering or related; some experience |
| Work Environment | Lead design teams, oversee complex chip layouts, strategic planning | Implement physical design tasks, optimize layouts, follow design flows |
| Industry Usage | Used in advanced semiconductor companies, high-level design roles | Common in semiconductor companies, entry to mid-level roles |
The Principal Physical Design Engineer typically holds a senior role with leadership responsibilities, overseeing complex projects and guiding teams. In contrast, a Physical Design Engineer focuses on executing physical design tasks under supervision. Both roles require similar technical skills and industry experience, but the principal position involves strategic planning and higher-level decision-making.
What are Principal Physical Design Engineers?
What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Principal Physical Design Engineer, and why are they important?
What are some typical challenges faced by Principal Physical Design Engineers when managing complex chip development projects?

Microsoft rating
8.5
Based on 131 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz
68th of 209 rated software companies
Job description
Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) is the team behind Microsoft's expanding Cloud Infrastructure and responsible for powering Microsoft's "Intelligent Cloud" mission. SCHIE delivers the core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft's over 200 online businesses including Bing, MSN, Office 365, Xbox Live, Teams, OneDrive, and the Microsoft Azure platform globally with our server and data center infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability solutions. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering a trusted experience to customers and partners worldwide and we are looking for passionate engineers to help achieve that mission.
As Microsoft's cloud business continues to grow the ability to deploy new offerings and hardware infrastructure on time, in high volume with high quality and lowest cost is of paramount importance. To achieve this goal, the AISiE team is instrumental in defining and delivering operational measures of success for hardware manufacturing, improving the planning process, quality, delivery, scale and sustainability related to Microsoft cloud hardware. We are looking for seasoned engineers with a dedicated passion for customer focused solutions, insight and industry knowledge to envision and implement future technical solutions that will manage and optimize the Cloud infrastructure.
We are looking for a Principal Physical Design Engineer to join the team.
#SCHIE
Responsibilities
We are looking to expand our Physical Design Engineer team in US with immediate hiring of a few senior and principal level Physical Design engineers to work on Microsoft Next-Gen AI SOC chip. If hired, you will be responsible for delivering TFM (tool, flow and methodology) of Physical Design tasks at block, sub-chip, and/or full-chip level. The roles include one or more of the following tasks - Place and Route (PnR), Static Timing Analysis (STA) and timing ECOs, Physical Verification (PV), Formal Equivalency Verification (FEV), Functional ECO, Global Clocking Construction, IR-Drop/EM (EMIR) and PD Infrastructure and IPs collaterals handling with details below:
• Lead the PnR convergence recipe development for designs at blocks/subsystem and subchip level
• Develop and implement methodologies and strategies to improve physical design efficiency and performance
• Develop and implement methodologies and strategies to sign off blocks, subsystem/Subchip in the areas of static timing analysis, physical verification, functional logics equivalence, low power verification and electromigration and IR drop
• Implementation of functional and timing ECO with least physical design impact
• Design and implement the global clocking scheme at SOC and sub chip levels
• Stay current with industry trends and emerging technologies to continuously improve physical design processes and methodologies
• Installation and quality check of internal and external IP collaterals for use by Physical Design execution team
• Conduct physical design reviews, identify and resolve design issues, and provide guidance to junior engineers.
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 3+ years technical engineering experience OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience.
Other:
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
This role will require access to information that is controlled for export under export control regulations, potentially under the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations or Export Administration Regulations, the EU Dual Use Regulation, and/or other export control regulations. As a condition of employment, the successful candidate will be required to provide either proof of their country of citizenship or proof of their US. residency or other protected status (e.g., under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) for assessment of eligibility to access the export-controlled information. To meet this legal requirement, and as a condition of employment, the successful candidate's citizenship will be verified with a valid passport. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees may verify status using other documents, where applicable.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor's or Master's in Electrical or Computer Engineering or related field with 10+ years of experience
- Experience in tapeouts of complex ASICs in leading edge technology
- 10+ years of experience in blocks level place and route and
- Expertise in one or more of physical design EDA tools such as Synopsys Fusion Compiler, PrimeClosure, Primetime, Formality, VCLP, Star-RC, Redhawk SC, and Cadence Innovus; Siemens Calibre.
- Strong understanding of semiconductor design principles, methodologies, and tools.
- Proven track record of successfully leading physical design projects and delivering high-quality semiconductor products
- Adequate scripting skillsets in TCL and Python
- Good understanding of foundry tech files and rule decks
Silicon Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.
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About Microsoft
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Our infrastructure is comprised of a large global portfolio of more than 100 datacenters and 1 million servers. Our foundation is built upon and managed by a team of subject matter experts working to support services for more than 1 billion customers and 20 million businesses in over 90 countries worldwide. With environmental sustainability and optimization at the forefront of our datacenter design and operations, we continue to grow and evolve as we meet the ever-changing business demands that hold Microsoft as a world-class cloud provider.
Industry
Computer and computer peripheral equipment and software wholesalers
Company size
10,000+ Employees
Headquarters location
Redmond, WA, US
Year founded
1975