Descriptions & Requirements

Job Description and Requirements

You Are

You have spent years designing analog and mixed signal circuits where a few millivolts matter and where the difference between a PHY that ships and one that does not is often a layout decision you made three months ago. You know CMOS fundamentals from debugging real silicon, not from textbooks. You have seen your VCO phase noise spike after tape-out and figured out why your driver eye diagram collapsed when you moved to FinFET.

You think in trade-offs. Power, area, and speed are not abstract metrics for you. They are real decisions you make with a layout engineer and an open simulator, choices that determine whether this IP wins at a Tier 1 customer. Leadership for you is not about title. It is about being the person the team turns to when a DLL is not locking or when a customer asks why your jitter spec looks different. You can explain a complex circuit trade-off in two sentences without losing the nuance, and you push back when a requirement does not make electrical sense. At Synopsys, you will work on memory PHY IP that powers the products the world designs.
What You'll Be Doing

• Provide technical leadership and direction for a local schematic design team working on DDR, LPDDR, HBM, and Mobile Storage PHY circuits
• Design and optimize high-speed analog and mixed signal circuits including receive equalizers, samplers, voltage and current-mode drivers, serializers, deserializers, VCOs, phase mixers, DLLs, PLLs, bandgap references, ADCs, and DACs
• Identify and refine circuit architectures to meet aggressive power, area, and performance targets across advanced FinFET process nodes
• Develop simulation and verification strategies using SPICE simulators, Verilog-A behavioral models, and custom scripting to ensure design quality and corner coverage
• Collaborate with layout engineers to minimize parasitic effects, manage device stress, and account for process variation in physical implementation
• Present simulation data, design reviews, and trade-off analyses to internal teams and external customers
• Document design specifications, test plans, and circuit features for IP product releases and customer engagements

The Impact You Will Have

• Your circuits will be integrated into memory PHY IP used by leading semiconductor companies to enable next-generation AI, mobile, and compute products
• Your technical leadership will shape the design quality and delivery timelines for a high-performing analog design team in Ottawa
• Your design strategies will directly influence whether Synopsys wins competitive sockets at Tier 1 customers based on power, performance, and area metrics
• Your collaboration with digital designers and layout engineers will reduce design iterations and improve time to market for critical IP releases
• Your simulation methodologies and verification rigor will catch issues before tape-out, reducing costly respins and accelerating customer adoption
• Your documentation and design reviews will set the standard for how the team communicates complex trade-offs internally and to customers
• Your expertise in FinFET design and high-speed circuits will help the team navigate process technology transitions and maintain competitive advantage

What You'll Need

• PhD with 5+ years or Master's with 8+ years of hands-on analog IC design experience
• Deep expertise in transistor-level circuit design with strong CMOS fundamentals, proven through multiple tape-outs
• Detailed design experience with at least one and familiarity with several DDR or SerDes sub-circuits such as receive equalizers, samplers, drivers, serializers, deserializers, VCOs, phase mixers, DLLs, PLLs, bandgap references, ADCs, or DACs
• Proficiency with SPICE simulators and simulation methods for corner analysis, Monte Carlo, and aging
• Working knowledge of ESD circuit techniques, layout considerations, and design for reliability including electromigration, IR drop, and aging effects
• Experience with schematic entry, physical layout tools, and design verification flows in advanced process nodes
• Experience with FinFET technologies is a plus, as is hands-on experience with physical layout of high-speed circuits

Who You Are

• You present simulation data in design reviews that clearly shows what will work, what will not, and why
• You explain circuit trade-offs to layout engineers in ways that make the physical implementation better
• You push back when a spec does not make electrical sense and offer an alternative that does
• You script your own simulation setups and post-processing in TCL, Python, or Verilog-A rather than waiting for tools to exist
• You work across analog and digital teams without losing sight of the actual electrical constraints
• You document decisions clearly enough that someone can pick up your design six months later and understand what you did

The Team You'll Be Part Of

You will join an R&D team in Ottawa developing high-speed analog and mixed signal circuits for DDR, LPDDR, HBM, and Mobile Storage PHY IPs. The team includes analog and digital designers from diverse technical backgrounds working in a collaborative environment. You will have access to a best-in-class IC design tool suite, supplemented by custom in-house tools and supported by an experienced software and CAD team. This is a local schematic design team where your technical leadership will directly shape how the group tackles complex circuit challenges and delivers IP that powers the products the world designs.

Rewards and Benefits

We offer a comprehensive range of health, wellness, and financial benefits to cater to your needs. Our total rewards include both monetary and non-monetary offerings. Your recruiter will provide more details about the salary range and benefits during the hiring process.