Senior Physical Design Engineer

About the job

Join our team as a Senior Physical Design Engineer and take ownership of shaping next-generation low-power Wi-Fi SoCs that power tomorrow’s connected devices. In this role, you’ll work on cutting-edge backend design flows, driving RTL-to-GDSII implementation and applying advanced low-power techniques to meet stringent power and performance targets. You’ll tackle complex challenges in timing closure, signal integrity, and power optimization, collaborating with world-class engineers and leading foundry partners to deliver high-quality, manufacturable designs. If you’re passionate about innovation, thrive in a fast-paced environment, and want to make a real impact on products used by millions, this is your opportunity to be at the forefront of semiconductor technology.

Key responsibilities

As a highly motivated individual you will be working as part of our Chip Physical Design team with dedicated responsibilities within the backend design-flow including:

• Convert RTL-design into a physical layout (GDSII).
• Perform floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis (CTS), and routing.
• Apply low-power design techniques (e.g., multi-Vt cells, power gating, clock gating).
• Ensure compliance with power budgets for battery-operated Wi-Fi devices.
• Achieve timing closure across multiple corners and modes (MCMM) and work on setup/hold fixes, signal integrity, and clock skew management.
• Perform IR drop analysis, EM (Electromigration) checks.
• Work closely with RTL designers, verification engineers, and package engineers, and collaborate with foundry for process-specific optimizations.
• Ensure design meets timing, power, area, and reliability targets.

Key Qualifications

• M.Sc in Electronics Engineering or equivalent
• Strong foundation in digital design principles, CMOS technology, and VLSI design.
• Expertise in RTL-to-GDSII flow, including floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis (CTS), and routing.
• Expertise with signal integrity, IR drop analysis, and electromigration checks.
• Hands-on experience with low-power design techniques like Multi-Vt cells, power gating, clock gating, multiple voltage domains.
• Proficiency in EDA tools and scripting skills for automation (Tcl, Perl, Python, or Shell).

Personal Skills

The ideal candidate will have strong collaboration and communication skills for working effectively with cross-functional teams. You need to be detail-oriented and capable of managing complex tasks under tight schedules while maintaining high-quality standards. Your problem-solving mindset is critical for addressing timing, power, and reliability challenges. The role demands adaptability to evolving technologies and processes, as well as the ability to take ownership and drive tasks to completion independently. Finally, being organized, analytical, and comfortable in a fast-paced environment will help you thrive.

Working for Nordic

Working at Nordic, you will be inspired and supported to develop yourself. Our teams enjoy a professional and informal working environment. We value and encourage the continuous development of skills and expertise to the highest levels. We are proud of our Norwegian heritage, our highly skilled international workforce, and our world-leading innovation.

We offer a variety of tasks and projects, and the possibility to work alongside some of the world’s most renowned experts within their field. We encourage our employees to question the established and innovate while expecting professionalism, commitment, and the will to learn.

Benefits

• Competitive salary with short- and long-term incentive plan
• Flexible working hours
• Medical insurance
• Family-friendly policies, insurances, and benefits

Practical details

• Location: Stockholm, Sweden | Tampere, Finland | Bristol, UK

Please note that this position might be subject to a background check.