Physical Design Methodology CAD Engineer - Austin, United States
Originally posted 21 September 2026 by the employer.
This role involves leveraging GenAI tools to improve Design team productivity in physical design.
About the role
This role involves developing physical design methodologies, flows, and custom CAD tools for high-performance, power-efficient SoCs at Apple. You will explore and enable new technology nodes and standard cells for design teams, focusing on PPA improvements and design productivity.
What you'll do
- Participate and engage with cross-functional teams to tackle physical design challenges.
- Develop innovative solutions in physical design and optimization.
- Develop and support implementation flows for multiple projects and design teams.
- Develop and maintain custom CAD tools for implementation and signoff.
- Create flows to enable successful deployment of new technology nodes.
- Develop tools and methodologies for PPA and productivity, including ML based solutions and GenAI applications.
What you'll need
- Knowledge of Tcl, Python, or Perl scripting languages.
- Minimum BS degree.
Nice to have
- Good understanding of VLSI / Physical Design basics through previous coursework or internships.
- Exposure to CAD Tool, CAD flow, or PD methodology.
- Understanding of analysis involved in Physical Design, such as extraction, timing, noise, physical verification, and EMIR.
Skills: physical design methodology, CAD tools, implementation flows, GenAI tools, PPA
This role has been open 20 days — well below the 81-day median for EDA/CAD Engineering roles.
EDA/CAD Engineering · EDA Tools
|
Open roles in category
690
|
Median days open
81 d
|
Median salary
$195k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Apple | All employers we track in this specialty (690 roles · 74 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 21 | 690 |
| Open roles in the wider Physical Implementation family | 36 | 1475 · 107 employers |
| Median days open | 12 d | 81 d (−69 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $195k |
Skills observed across this category: physical design methodology, CAD tools, implementation flows, GenAI tools, PPA
Who's hiring in this category
- Cadence Design Systems · 160 open roles · median 169 d
- Synopsys · 61 open roles · median 38 d
- Micron Technology · 42 open roles · median 91 d
- Qualcomm · 42 open roles · median 62 d
- NVIDIA · 41 open roles · median 75 d
- GlobalFoundries · 31 open roles · median 52 d
How we counted: 690 open EDA/CAD Engineering (EDA Tools) roles from 74 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 11 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Physical Implementation family row. Figures refresh nightly.