Full Chip PnR Lead

A "Full Chip PnR (Place and Route) Lead" is a senior-level position in semiconductor companies responsible for leading the physical design implementation process, including place and route, for entire chip designs. The job description for this role typically includes the following responsibilities and qualifications:

Responsibilities:

1. Physical Design Strategy: Develop and implement physical design strategies and methodologies for full-chip designs to achieve optimal performance, power, area, and timing goals.
2. PnR Flow Development: Define and optimize the place and route (PnR) flow, including floorplanning, power planning, clock tree synthesis, placement, routing, and optimization techniques.
3. Timing Closure: Lead timing closure efforts by analyzing and addressing timing violations, performing timing optimizations, and collaborating with design and synthesis teams to meet timing requirements.
4. Power Optimization: Implement power optimization techniques, such as power gating, voltage scaling, and clock gating, to achieve low power consumption while meeting performance targets.
5. Area Optimization: Optimize chip area utilization by efficient floorplanning, placement optimizations, and congestion management to minimize chip size and manufacturing costs.
6. Physical Verification: Collaborate with physical verification teams to ensure design rule compliance, perform layout versus schematic (LVS) checks, and resolve layout-related issues.
7. Design-for-Manufacturability (DFM): Implement DFM techniques to enhance chip manufacturability, yield, and reliability, working closely with manufacturing teams and foundry partners.
8. Documentation and Reporting: Maintain documentation of PnR methodologies, optimization techniques, design constraints, and implementation details, and provide regular reports and updates to stakeholders on design status and progress.

Qualifications:

1. Education: Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field, with a focus on physical design or VLSI design.
2. Experience: Several years of experience in physical design implementation, including hands-on experience with leading-edge tools and methodologies in PnR, timing closure, power optimization, and physical verification.
3. PnR Tools: Proficiency in using industry-standard PnR tools such as Synopsys ICC, Cadence Innovus, Mentor Calibre, etc., and familiarity with scripting languages like TCL, Perl, or Python for automation.
4. Timing Closure Skills: Strong skills in timing closure methodologies, timing analysis, optimization techniques, and clock tree synthesis (CTS) for achieving timing goals.
5. Power Optimization Skills: Experience in power optimization techniques, power analysis, and low-power design methodologies for achieving low power consumption without compromising performance.
6. Physical Verification Knowledge: Understanding of physical verification methodologies, DRC (Design Rule Check), LVS (Layout vs. Schematic), ERC (Electrical Rule Check), and DFM considerations for chip manufacturability.
7. Communication and Leadership: Excellent communication, teamwork, and leadership skills to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams, lead physical design projects, and drive design closure and optimization efforts.

Overall, a Full Chip PnR Lead plays a crucial role in the successful physical design implementation of semiconductor chips, ensuring optimal performance, power, area, and manufacturability of the final chip product.