Lead Physical Design Engineer
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Occupation TypeEngineering professionals not elsewhere classified.
Occupation Code Skill LevelHigher Skilled
Sponsorship Salary Threshold
£46,100
(£23.64 per hour)
Occupation rate applies
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Description
Fractile’s mission is to enable a new chapter in the AI revolution. We’re pioneering AI innovation where hardware and software join to create something extraordinary, unlocking the power of the world’s largest language models with speed increases of x100. Our team is rapidly expanding, and we're searching for visionary engineers, scientists, and thinkers who share our passion for pushing boundaries and redefining what's possible. If you're ready to join a dynamic group of innovators shaping AI's future, we want to hear from you!
We are seeking a highly skilled Lead Physical Design Engineer to contribute to our next-generation chip designs. As a Lead Physical Design Engineer, you will be responsible for the end-to-end implementation of complex IC physical designs, from synthesis to sign-off. In this role, you will take on leadership responsibilities across multiple dimensions, including full-chip ownership, leading a team of physical design engineers, and contributing to broader chip-level physical design leadership. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, including logic design, verification, and process technology, to optimise performance, power, and area (PPA) while ensuring design integrity and manufacturability.
Key Responsibilities
We are seeking a highly skilled Lead Physical Design Engineer to contribute to our next-generation chip designs. As a Lead Physical Design Engineer, you will be responsible for the end-to-end implementation of complex IC physical designs, from synthesis to sign-off. In this role, you will take on leadership responsibilities across multiple dimensions, including full-chip ownership, leading a team of physical design engineers, and contributing to broader chip-level physical design leadership. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, including logic design, verification, and process technology, to optimise performance, power, and area (PPA) while ensuring design integrity and manufacturability.
Key Responsibilities
- Drive the physical implementation of ASIC/SoC designs, including floorplanning, placement, clock tree synthesis (CTS), routing, and sign-off.
- Lead or contribute to full-chip execution, block ownership, team leadership, or chip leadership, depending on project needs.
- Work on synthesis, timing analysis (STA), and optimisation to achieve the best PPA metrics.
- Own power planning and analysis, addressing IR drop, electromigration, and related effects.
- Ensure design rule check (DRC), layout vs. schematic (LVS), and other physical verification compliance.
- Collaborate with DFT engineers to integrate design-for-test (DFT) structures into the physical implementation.
- Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
- Strong proficiency in EDA tools for place & route, STA, and sign-off.
- Solid understanding of CMOS technology, semiconductor physics, and process limitations.
- Expertise in timing closure, signal integrity, IR drop analysis, and formal verification.
- Proficiency in scripting languages like TCL, Perl, or Python for automation.
- Proven ability to take ownership of complex designs and drive them to completion.
- Experience mentoring engineers and leading physical design efforts.
- Excellent problem-solving skills, communication, and teamwork in a collaborative design environment.
- Experience in high-performance computing (HPC), AI accelerators, or networking chips.
- Experience or strong interest in leveraging advanced AI tools and models within engineering workflows.
How We Work
- Ownership and execution: you will have full agency to drive your work forward
- Rapid iteration: we all work directly with top leadership to move from idea to hardware on ambitious timelines
- Full-stack engagement: hardware, software, silicon, and modelling teams all work closely together to create a product with generational impact
- Optimistic and pragmatic: we possess the will to win, and to do the hard work to get us there
- Team player mentality: the mission is bigger than any of us, and we have the curiosity and technical focus to see the best idea shipped, no matter who’s it is
- Founded in 2022, team of 90+ which is expanding rapidly
- Modern, open offices in London and Bristol
- Collaborative, problem-solving culture built on deep curiosity, entrepreneurial initiative and technical fluency
Certain roles may involve working on technologies subject to export restrictions. Applicants may be required to undergo additional eligibility checks to ensure compliance with applicable law.