Senior EDA/CAD Characterization Engineer

EDA/ CAD Characterization Engineer (C++/ Python)

AI EDA Start up

Up to $350K + Equity

Los Altos, CA (Hybrid)

My client is an AI-powered electronic design automation (EDA) startup transforming how semiconductor chips are designed and manufactured. The company uses artificial intelligence to optimize power, performance, and area (PPA) in physical chip design — solving problems that humans literally cannot solve alone.

To achieve this they weave downstream manufacturing information into the upstream design process, finding the optimal balance between chip performance and manufacturability. While other AI EDA startups focus on improving productivity by automating what humans already do, they use AI to achieve what humans can't do — pushing the boundaries of physical design optimization at a time when Moore's Law is ending and the demand for compute is exploding.

Backed by $6M in pre-seed funding with a partnership with GlobalFoundries already announced. Founded by an ex-Google VP and a world-leading EDA professor — this is ground-floor timing with a tiny team and massive equity upside.

You'd own the characterization engine end to end — building something comparable to PrimeLib or SiliconSmart from scratch. Up to $350k salary + up to 1.5% equity, hybrid in Los Altos (4 days/week).

We are looking for an EDA/CAD Engineer specializing in characterization with 3+ years of experience to design and build a high-performance cell characterization engine from scratch. You'll be the kind of person who could have built PrimeLib or SiliconSmart — not just configured and run one. This is a rare opportunity to own foundational infrastructure end-to-end at an AI-native EDA startup that's rewriting the rules of physical design optimization. You'll work alongside a small, technically deep team of EDA and ML veterans with the kind of ownership and latitude that doesn't exist at large incumbent vendors.

What will you be doing?

• Design and build a fast, scalable characterization engine covering timing, power, and noise models for standard cells and custom IP — including NLDM, CCS, and ECSM model generation
• Architect the SPICE simulation orchestration layer with job scheduling, parallelization, and intelligent sampling techniques that minimize runtime without sacrificing accuracy
• Own liberty (.lib) file generation and validation infrastructure, ensuring outputs are correct and usable by downstream STA tools
• Collaborate directly with our physical design optimization and ML teams to define what characterization data the optimizer needs and build programmatic APIs for the optimization loop
• Make real engineering tradeoffs between speed and fidelity, and defend those tradeoffs to technically sophisticated customers

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Requirements:

• 3 - 10 years of experience building cell characterization tools or EDA R&D, using C++/Python
• Built characterization tool infrastructure (not just ran tools)
• Deep knowledge of cell characterization methodology (timing, power, noise)
• ML/surrogate modeling for characterization acceleration
• On- site 4 days/week in Los Altos, CA
• R&D role at Synopsys, Cadence, or Ansys on PrimeLib/Liberate
• MS or PhD in EE, CS, or related field

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• Strong SPICE simulation background (HSPICE, Spectre, or FineSim)
• Passionate about circuit modeling — wants to build, not just operate
• US work authorization or open to visa sponsorship
• Startup experience or clear desire to join an early- stage company
• BS with equivalent hands- on characterization tool- building experience

Culture & Values:

• Transparency: The foundation of our culture. Team members are expected to be open, honest, and proactive — including telling leadership when they're wrong.
• Accountability & Ownership: Engineers own large parts of the product and work directly with major customers. There's no place to hide in a bureaucracy.
• Smart work over long hours: The company doesn't believe in winning by working 80 hours a week. The focus is on high-bandwidth collaboration during overlapping on-site hours (Monday–Thursday), not counting minutes at a desk.