Physical Design Engineer, New Grad

Location: San Jose, California, United States Department: Hardware

SambaNova is a leader in next-generation AI infrastructure, delivering a full-stack inference platform for customers worldwide. At the core of SambaNova's technology is the RDU (Reconfigurable Dataflow Unit) — a chip built on a dataflow architecture rather than the traditional GPU model. Its decode performance is especially strong for agentic workloads like multi-turn agents, code generation, and long-running applications. RDUs are packaged into SambaRack, rack-scale hardware that lets customers deploy state-of-the-art models with better performance, greater energy efficiency, and faster time to value.

About the Team

The Physical Design team takes RDU designs through synthesis, place and route, and sign-off on TSMC advanced nodes. We develop and maintain the Cadence based flow, including Genus, Innovus, and Cerebrus, and work with designers and tool vendors to fix flow and design issues.

About the Role

As a new grad Physical Design Engineer, you'll run and improve our RTL to GDS flow on advanced process nodes. You'll write TCL and Python scripts to automate flow steps, help physical designers debug timing and congestion issues, and work with tool vendors on bugs.

Responsibilities

Run synthesis and place and route using Cadence Genus, Innovus, and Cerebrus

Write scripts in TCL and Python to automate and improve the physical design flow

Help physical designers debug timing, congestion, and design rule issues

Work with tool vendors to report bugs and test flow improvements

Maintain flow documentation and regression testing

Required Qualifications

B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science

Coursework or project experience in VLSI or digital IC design

Understanding of the RTL to GDS flow, including synthesis and place and route

Scripting experience in TCL, Perl, or Python

Preferred Qualifications

M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or Computer Science

Experience with Cadence or Synopsys physical design tools

Familiarity with static timing analysis

Familiarity with physical design rules on advanced process nodes

Experience using AI tools such as Claude for flow development

Internship or tape-out experience, including class or university tape-outs

Base Salary Range

Base Pay Range

$120,000—$150,000 USD

Submission Guidelines

Please note that in order to be considered an applicant for any position at SambaNova Systems, you must submit an application form for each position for which you believe you are qualified.

EEO Policy

SambaNova Systems is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard basis of age (40 and over), color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, national origin/ancestry, race, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding), sexual orientation, and any other applicable status protected by federal, state, or local laws.

Benefits Summary for US-Based, Full-Time Employment Positions SambaNova offers a competitive total rewards package, including the base salary, plus equity and benefits. We cover 95% premium coverage for employee medical insurance, and 77% premium coverage for dependents and offer a Health Savings Account (HSA) with employer contribution. We also offer Dental, Vision, Short/Long term Disability, Basic Life, Voluntary Life, and AD&D insurance plans in addition to Flexible Spending Account (FSA) options like Health Care, Limited Purpose, and Dependent Care. Our library of well-being benefits available to you and your dependents includes a full subscription to Headspace, Gympass+ membership with access to physical gyms, One Medical membership, counseling services with an Employee Assistance Program, and much more.