{"id":604366,"url":"https://alion.io/job/cisco-systems-standard-cells-characterization-engineer","title":"Standard Cells Characterization Engineer","company":{"id":90,"name":"Cisco Systems","domain":"cisco.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/cisco-systems","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Workday","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":86,"open_postings":247,"ghost_share":0.02,"stale_share":0.453,"repost_share":0.073,"time_to_fill_p50_days":25,"computed_at":"2026-10-27T05:46:45Z"}},"role":"Semiconductors","role_family":"Semiconductors","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"hybrid","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Armenia"],"countries":["AM"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":{"min_usd":60000,"max_usd":117000,"period":"year","method":"global_role_cell_scaled_by_country","sample_n":107},"experience_years_min":6,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"Synopsys StarRC","optional":false},{"name":"Perl","optional":true},{"name":"Python","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-07T00:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-07","last_verified_at":"2026-10-28T02:35:12Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":51,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":51},"description":"Meet the Team\nThe Common Hardware Group (CHG) delivers the silicon, optics, and hardware platforms powering Cisco’s core Switching, Routing, and Wireless products. We design networking hardware for enterprises, service providers, the public sector, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. As part of the team behind Cisco Silicon One-the industry’s only unified silicon architecture spanning top-of-rack switches to web-scale data centers-you’ll help shape Cisco’s groundbreaking solutions by designing, developing, and testing some of the most advanced ASICs in the industry.\nYour Impact\nLead the end-to-end characterization flow for standard cell libraries from extracted netlists through Liberty delivery and correlation against TSMC reference data.\n\nDefine and maintain PrimeLib/Liberate characterization methodology, templates, and automation for timing, power, noise (CCS/NLDM), and leakage across PVT and RC corners.\n\nDrive correlation closure for delay, transition, capacitance, and leakage.\n\nOwn extraction-to-char integration: LVS/StarRC setup, RC corner alignment (e.g., cbest_CCbest_T), well-bias port handling (VPP/VBB), and netlist quality gates.\n\nDebug characterization failures at the netlist, simulation, and Liberty-model level; root-cause issues in extraction, corner mismatch, bias connectivity, or SPICE model binding.\n\nDevelop reusable Tcl/shell flows, validation checks, and documentation so characterization is repeatable across cells, corners, and library releases.\n\nPartner with library design, physical verification, and CAD teams on cell readiness, deck configuration, and release criteria.\n\nLead characterization reviews; define sign-off criteria and drive closure on blockers before library release.\n\nMinimum Qualifications\nBachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field and 6 years of relevant experience, or Master's Degree and 4 years of experience, or PhD and 1 year of experience.\n\nFirst-hand experience characterizing standard cell libraries with PrimeLib, Liberate, or equivalent tools\n\nStrong understanding of Liberty formats (NLDM, CCS, CCS noise, leakage/power modeling) and TSMC (or equivalent foundry) characterization flows\n\nExperience with parasitic extraction (StarRC or equivalent), LVS, and RC corner / PVT alignment between extraction and characterization\n\nSolid understanding of CMOS device behavior, timing arcs, power domains, and well/substrate bias effects in deep-submicron nodes\n\nPreferred Qualifications\nExperience on advanced nodes (7 nm, 5 nm, 3 nm, 2 nm) with foundry std-cell libraries\n\nFamiliarity with TSMC N2P (or similar) char packages, SPICE kits, and extraction guides\n\nExperience with LVF/statistical characterization and hold-margin flows\n\nBackground in library QA, automated correlation reporting, and release management for high-volume silicon\n\nProficiency in Tcl, Perl, or Python for flow automation and correlation analysis\n\nWhy Cisco?\nAt Cisco, we’re revolutionizing how data and infrastructure connect and protect organizations in the AI era - and beyond. We’ve been innovating fearlessly for 40 years to create solutions that power how humans and technology work together across the physical and digital worlds. These solutions provide customers with unparalleled security, visibility, and insights across the entire digital footprint.\nFueled by the depth and breadth of our technology, we experiment and create meaningful solutions. Add to that our worldwide network of doers and experts, and you’ll see that the opportunities to grow and build are limitless. We work as a team, collaborating with empathy to make really big things happen on a global scale. Because our solutions are everywhere, our impact is everywhere.\nWe are Cisco, and our power starts with you.","description_format":"text","description_chars":3776,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":6,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":[],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"Armenia","iso":"AM","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Network Security","Unified Communications","Network Equipment","Observability & APM"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-10T17:53:23Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":19,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.685,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":50,"expected_fill_days":25,"reasons":["conf:5","velocity","win:tail","crowd:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-10-27T05:46:45Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/cisco-systems-standard-cells-characterization-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/cisco-systems-standard-cells-characterization-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-28T02:48:58Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":3746,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-29T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":90},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=90"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fcisco-systems-standard-cells-characterization-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fcisco-systems-standard-cells-characterization-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fcisco-systems-standard-cells-characterization-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/cisco-systems-standard-cells-characterization-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fcisco-systems-standard-cells-characterization-engineer"}]}