Physical Design Engineer

Senior / Staff Physical Design Engineer Location: Bristol Area Salary: Circa £250,000 + Equity Working Arrangement: On-site Employment Type: Permanent I'm recruiting on behalf of a rapidly growing semiconductor company developing next-generation accelerator technology for high-performance AI computing. They are seeking a Senior or Staff Physical Design Engineer to lead the implementation of digital control logic within a tightly integrated mixed-signal and analogue subsystem. This is an opportunity to solve complex physical-design challenges involving advanced process nodes, high-frequency circuits and custom analogue/RF integration. The Role You will take ownership of physical design from architecture through to sign-off, working closely with analogue, digital and DFT engineers. Key responsibilities will include:

• Architecting and implementing high-performance digital control solutions.
• Floorplanning, placement, routing and timing closure.
• Developing low-power, low-skew clock-distribution networks.
• Designing power grids around complex analogue floorplans.
• Supporting multi-voltage-domain design flows.
• Performing timing analysis across analogue and digital interfaces.
• Achieving DRC, LVS and ERC closure on advanced-node processes.
• Customising and automating physical-design flows using Python and Tcl.
• Supporting DFT implementation and successful tape-out. Essential Experience
• At least seven years' experience in ASIC or SoC physical design.
• Strong knowledge of high-frequency, high-performance digital implementation.
• Experience across floorplanning, place and route, CTS, STA and sign-off.
• Proven work with advanced semiconductor process nodes.
• Python and Tcl scripting for EDA flow automation.
• Experience integrating digital logic with analogue, RF or mixed-signal circuitry.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills. Experience with sub-7nm tape-outs, PCIe, SerDes, PHY integration, ESD requirements or customised DFT flows would be highly advantageous. The successful engineer will receive a circa £250,000 salary, meaningful equity and the opportunity to influence the architecture of a genuinely cutting-edge semiconductor platform.