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Senior Physical Design Engineer Jobs in Texas (NOW HIRING)

Physical Design Engineer

Austin, TX · On-site

$120 - $160/hr

Job Summary Etched is looking for exceptional Physical Design engineers to join our team. In this role, you will own block-level implementation and verification, drive timing closure and PPA ...

New

Physical Design Engineer

Austin, TX · On-site

$134K - $138K/yr

Hudson River Trading (HRT) is seeking a Physical Design Engineer with a broad, versatile skillset to join our growing Hardware team. In this role, you will help deliver performance-critical ASICs and ...

Job Details: The Role and Impact As a Senior CPU Physical Design Engineer , you will play a critical role in delivering Intel's next-generation high-performance CPUs from concept through ...

Physical Design Engineer

Austin, TX · On-site

$100K - $500K/yr

Tenstorrent is seeking a talented Physical Design Engineer to implement high-performance blocks for our industry-leading CPU and AI/ML architectures. You'll own the complete implementation flow from ...

Tenstorrent is seeking an exceptional Senior-level Physical Design Engineer to drive top-level implementation of our complex AI and CPU System-on-Chip designs. You'll orchestrate cross-disciplinary ...

Physical Design Engineer

Austin, TX · On-site

$167K - $245K/yr

Your Impact As a Physical Design Engineer, you will play a key role in the full RTL-to-GDSII implementation flow for advanced semiconductor nodes. You will optimize floor planning and timing, analyze ...

We are looking for a Senior CPU Design Engineer!NVIDIA is seeking best-in-class CPU Design ... Deliver a synthesis/timing clean design while working with the physical design team ensuring a ...

We are looking for a Senior CPU Design Engineer. NVIDIA is seeking best-in-class CPU Design ... Deliver a synthesis/timing clean design while working with the physical design team ensuring a ...

Share CPU Physical Design Engineer * link Copy link X In most instances, this position requires in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. Note: By applying to this position you will have an ...

Showing results 21-40

Senior Physical Design Engineer information

See Texas salary details

$65.7K

$125.4K

$181.7K

How much do senior physical design engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 3, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior physical design engineer in Texas is $125,380.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $100,200.00 and $146,700.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a senior physical design engineer?

A Senior Physical Design Engineer is a highly skilled professional in the field of semiconductor engineering who specializes in transforming circuit designs (netlists) into physical layouts for integrated circuits (ICs). They are responsible for tasks such as floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis, and routing, ensuring that the chip meets performance, area, and power requirements. Senior engineers in this role often lead projects, mentor junior engineers, and collaborate closely with other design and verification teams to deliver high-quality silicon products.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a senior physical design engineer?

To thrive as a Senior Physical Design Engineer, you need expertise in VLSI design, ASIC/SoC implementation, and a solid background in electrical or computer engineering, often complemented by a relevant degree. Mastery of EDA tools such as Cadence, Synopsys, or Mentor Graphics, and familiarity with scripting languages like TCL and Python, is typically required. Strong problem-solving abilities, attention to detail, and effective communication are critical soft skills for collaborating with cross-functional teams and managing complex projects. These skills and qualifications ensure efficient, high-quality chip design, meeting both technical and timeline requirements in a competitive industry.

What are some common challenges faced by senior physical design engineers during the chip tape-out phase?

Senior Physical Design Engineers often encounter tight deadlines and last-minute design changes during the chip tape-out phase, which can make ensuring timing closure and meeting power, performance, and area (PPA) targets particularly challenging. Collaborating closely with verification and layout teams is essential to quickly resolve any critical design rule violations or integration issues. Effective communication, attention to detail, and thorough knowledge of EDA tools are key to successfully managing these high-pressure situations and delivering a manufacturable design on schedule.

What is the difference between Senior Physical Design Engineer vs Physical Design Engineer?

AspectSenior Physical Design EngineerPhysical Design Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering; experience in physical design toolsBachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering; entry to mid-level experience
Work EnvironmentDesign teams in semiconductor or chip design companies, using EDA toolsDesign teams in semiconductor or chip design companies, using EDA tools
Employer & Industry UsageCommonly employed in advanced chip design companies, focusing on complex ICsUsed across various semiconductor companies for standard physical design tasks

The main difference is experience level and responsibility. Senior Physical Design Engineers typically lead complex projects and mentor junior staff, while Physical Design Engineers focus on executing design tasks under supervision. Both roles require similar technical skills and work in similar environments, but the senior role involves more leadership and strategic planning.

How much does a senior physical design engineer make in the US?

A senior physical design engineer in the US typically earns between $110,000 and $160,000 annually, depending on experience, location, and company size. Compensation may also include bonuses and stock options, especially in high-tech industries or large corporations.

What are the most commonly searched types of Physical Design Engineer jobs in Texas?

The most popular types of Physical Design Engineer jobs in Texas are:

What cities in Texas are hiring for Senior Physical Design Engineer jobs?

Cities in Texas with the most Senior Physical Design Engineer job openings:

Infographic showing various Senior Physical Design Engineer job openings in Texas as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 77% Full Time, 16% Part Time, 4% Contract, and 2% Nights. Highlights an 97% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 2% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $125,380 per year, or $60.3 per hour.

Physical Design Engineer

Etched.ai, Inc.

Austin, TX • On-site

$120 - $160/hr

Other

Medical, Dental, Vision

Posted 2 days ago

New


Job description

About Etched

Etched is building the world’s first AI inference system purpose-built for transformers - delivering over 10x higher performance and dramatically lower cost and latency than a B200. With Etched ASICs, you can build products that would be impossible with GPUs, like real-time video generation models and extremely deep & parallel chain-of-thought reasoning agents. Backed by hundreds of millions from top-tier investors and staffed by leading engineers, Etched is redefining the infrastructure layer for the fastest growing industry in history.

Job Summary

Etched is looking for exceptional Physical Design engineers to join our team. In this role, you will own block-level implementation and verification, drive timing closure and PPA optimization, supervise 3rd party design work, and help improve our design flows and iteration speed.

Key Responsibilities
  • Deeply understand what is involved in physical design
  • Run PD flows to close blocks, support ASIC infrastructure, automate PD flows, improve CAD infrastructure
  • Collaborate with RTL designers and provide Physical Design feedback to improve PPA
  • Drive dashboards that show the convergence of projects related to PD
  • Optimize tool flows, working with EDA vendors to incorporate the latest features
  • Accountable for block level closure
  • Supervise the outsourcing of physical design to a 3rd party service
You may be a good fit if you have
  • 5-10+ years of previous experience with PD
  • Tools, flow, and design methodology from RTL synthesis to GDSII sign-off
  • Experience with back-end design and timing closure on advanced process nodes 5nm and below
  • Experience with Cadence (Innovus, Genus) or Synopsys (ICC2, Fusion Compiler) automated RTL-to-GDSII flows
  • Experience with sign-off tools (PrimeTime, Tempus, Voltus, etc.)
  • Experience with UPF-based low power design methodology, power verification, synthesis, scan insertion ATPG, formal verification, floorplanning, placement, CTS, routing, IR drop, and EM/antenna analysis
  • Deeply creative and able to think from first principles
Strong candidates may also have experience with
  • Familiarity with transformer models and machine learning
  • Ability to program with Python or another scripting language
  • Familiarity with AI tools for programming/coding
  • Startup experience or comfort working in fast-paced environments
Benefits
  • Medical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage
    • $500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits
  • Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and more
  • Daily lunch and dinner in our office
How we’re different

Etched believes in the Bitter Lesson. We think most of the progress in the AI field has come from using more FLOPs to train and run models, and the best way to get more FLOPs is to build model-specific hardware. Larger and larger training runs encourage companies to consolidate around fewer model architectures, which creates a market for single-model ASICs.

We have a growing presence in Austin and a core team in San Jose (Santana Row), and we greatly value engineering skills. We do not have strict boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both as needed.

This role is based in our Austin office, with regular time spent working alongside the team in San Jose. During the first quarter, expect to spend approximately two weeks per month at our San Jose headquarters to ramp quickly. After that, this shifts to roughly one week per month for ongoing collaboration.

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