Principal CAD Engineer - Physical Verification

Microsoft Silicon, Cloud Hardware, and Infrastructure Engineering (SCHIE) is the team behind Microsoft’s expanding Cloud Infrastructure and responsible for powering Microsoft’s “Intelligent Cloud” mission. SCHIE delivers the core infrastructure and foundational technologies for Microsoft's over 200 online businesses including Bing, MSN, Office 365, Xbox Live, Teams, OneDrive, and the Microsoft Azure platform globally with our server and data center infrastructure, security and compliance, operations, globalization, and manageability solutions. Our focus is on smart growth, high efficiency, and delivering a trusted experience to customers and partners worldwide and we are looking for engineers to help achieve that mission. Do you have a passion for advanced silicon signoff and physical verification at leading‑edge technology nodes? You will be part of a team responsible for driving state‑of‑the‑art Physical Verification CAD solutions for Microsoft’s silicon design teams. In this role, you will foster the enablement and support of advanced‑node DRC, LVS, Antenna, and ESD signoff flows, working closely with EDA vendors, and internal design teams. You will own PV signoff methodology end to end, identify gaps, and drive scalable, production‑ready solutions across multiple silicon programs. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workspace and strongly encourage applicants from all backgrounds and walks of life. Difference makes us better. We are looking for a Principal CAD Engineer - Physical Verification to join our team.

Lead methodology enablement, project alignment, centralized CAD flow management, and Physical Design support for the Silicon organization. The role will own and advance Physical Verification and PERC methodologies, partnering closely with design teams to improve productivity, quality, and execution consistency   Develop, maintain, and support Physical Verification (PV) flows across all Silicon projects, spanning early design (shift ‑ left) through final signoff, including DRC, LVS, ERC, antenna, and advanced checks.   Own PV methodology, including guidelines, checklists, milestone definitions, and waiver strategies, ensuring consistent and predictable execution across programs and nodes.   Partner closely with Physical Design teams to:   Enable early PV runs   Debug complex DRC/LVS/ERC/PERC issues   Identify systemic design or flow gaps and drive fixes to closure.   Lead resolution of PV ‑ related flow and design issues, including tool stability, runtime scalability, deck integration, waiver correctness, and cross ‑ tool debug.   Drive cross ‑ functional alignment with CAD, Technology, and external EDA partners to communicate PV requirements, influence roadmap priorities, and unblock execution at critical project milestones.   Support PDK and node enablement activities, ensuring PV flows are validated, production ‑ ready, and aligned with foundry decks and internal signoff criteria across multiple technology variants.   Lead the development and deployment of AI-enabled agents to automate and optimize Physical Verification (PV) and PERC workflows across the Silicon organization.   Contribute to PV activities, including training material, documentation, onboarding labs, and continuous improvement of automation and debug infrastructure.

Required Qualifications:   Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 3+ years technical engineering experience OR Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience OR Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience OR equivalent experience.      Other Requirements:    Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security