Package Design & Layout Engineer

Cspeed

$130K — $160K *
Telecommunications & Hardware
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • BS or MS in Electrical Engineering or equivalent practical background
  • 6+ years of IC package physical design experience
  • Expert-level proficiency in package layout tools (Cadence Allegro, Siemens Xpedition, Synopsys IC Package)
  • Experience with multi-die packaging techniques (2D or 2.5/3D integration)
  • Fluency in multi-layer organic substrate construction and constraints on routing
  • Practical experience with DFM/DFA closures with substrate suppliers and OSATs
  • Comfortable communicating in English across distributed teams and time zones

Responsibilities

  • Deliver RDL/UBM and package substrate layouts from floorplan to tape-out
  • Define bump maps, ball maps, and routing strategies for multi-die assemblies
  • Participate in concept phase to produce preliminary floorplans and stack-up proposals
  • Iterate with SI/PI engineers on test routes to refine routing topologies
  • Engage with suppliers to negotiate design rules, stack-ups, and assembly constraints
  • Run physical verification checks including DRC and LVS
  • Support test vehicle definition, assembly, and failure analysis

Benefits

  • Opportunity to influence next-gen product design and manufacturing
  • Hands-on involvement in architecting complex optical engine layouts
  • Work closely with diverse teams across design and manufacturing
  • Directly impact the transition from design to real products in a short timeframe
  • Potential for building skills in advanced packaging techniques and automation
Full Job Description
The Role

You will own the physical design of our optical engine packages - redistribution layers, substrate, and the bump and ball maps that tie the die stack to the host board. This is a hands-on layout role with real architectural influence.

You will work between our PIC and EIC design teams, our SI/PI and thermal engineers, and our supply chain (wafer fab, substrate vendor, OSAT). You will not be handed a finished floorplan to route - you will help define it.
What You'll Do

Layout execution
  • Deliver RDL/UBM and package substrate layouts for our optical engine products and test vehicles, from floorplan through tape-out.
  • Define and release bump maps, ball maps, and escape routing strategies for multi-die assemblies (PIC, EIC, and light source die).
  • Design to 200G/lane-class electrical requirements: differential pair routing, reference-plane integrity, crosstalk isolation, and power delivery for high-current, low-noise rails.

Co-design and floor planning
  • Participate from concept phase: produce preliminary floorplans and stack-up proposals that reconcile electrical, optical, thermal, and mechanical constraints before they are frozen.
  • Iterate with SI/PI engineers on test routes to converge routing topologies and design rules.

Design rules, DFM, and supplier engagement
  • Work directly with wafer fabs, substrate suppliers, and OSATs to capture and negotiate design rules, stack-ups, and assembly constraints.
  • Generate fab and assembly release packages; drive DFM/DFA closure and design reviews through to sign-off.
  • Flag rule conflicts early and propose alternatives rather than routing around them silently.

Verification and automation
  • Run and own physical verification: DRC, connectivity/LVS-style netlist checks, and cross-domain consistency between die, package, substrate, and board.
  • Manage netlists for heterogeneous assemblies across revisions and product variants.
  • Build scripted automation (SKILL, Python, or equivalent) for repetitive layout, checking, and release tasks.

Build support
  • Support test vehicle definition, first builds, bring-up, failure analysis, and yield learning - including layout changes driven by assembly reality.
Required Qualifications
  • BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, or equivalent practical background.
  • 6+ years of IC package physical design, including at least one product taken from concept through tape-out and volume-relevant build.
  • Expert-level proficiency in a package layout tool: Cadence Allegro Package Designer / APD+ / SiP, Siemens Xpedition Package Designer, Synopsys IC Package, or equivalent.
  • Demonstrated experience with multi die packaging: 2D or 2.5/3D integration.
  • Working fluency with multi-layer organic substrate construction and how material and stack-up choices constrain routing.
  • Practical experience closing DFM/DFA with external substrate suppliers and OSATs.
  • Comfortable working in English across a distributed team and multiple time zones.
Preferred Qualifications
  • Demonstrated experience with advanced packaging: 2.5D/3D integration, RDL, TSV interposers, fan-out, microbump or Cu-pillar flip-chip.
  • Layout for 112G/224G SerDes or comparable high-speed interfaces; familiarity with signal and power integrity workflows (e.g. Cadence Sigrity/PowerSI, Ansys).
  • Familiarity with mask and RDL vendor flows, GDS-based layout environments (Virtuoso, KLayout), and AutoCAD file exchange.
  • Experience with package/IC co-design environments (e.g. Cadence Integrity 3D-IC).
  • Scripting for design automation and rule checking.
  • Experience at a startup or on a first-of-its-kind product, where the design rules did not exist yet.
Why This Role Is Different

Most package layout roles are a step in someone else's flow. Here, the package is the product. You will be one of a handful of people who determine whether a next-generation optical engine is manufacturable, and you will see your layout decisions land in silicon and in an OSAT line within months, not years.

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