{"id":1521549,"url":"https://alion.io/job/positron-ai-physical-design-engineer-synth-senior","title":"Physical Design Engineer - Synth, Senior","company":{"id":63106,"name":"Positron AI","domain":"positron.ai","url":"https://alion.io/company/positron-ai","size_band":"501-1000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Rippling","truth_index":null},"role":"Industrial Engineering","role_family":"Industrial Engineering","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"remote","remote_scope":"stated_countries","remote_scope_basis":"posting_text","remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":[],"countries":[],"hiring_countries":["US","CA"],"hiring_countries_total":2,"salary":{"min":200000,"max":300000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":300000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":8,"visa_sponsorship":true,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"AWS Lambda","optional":false},{"name":"Cadence Genus","optional":false},{"name":"Groq","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"Synopsys Design Compiler","optional":false},{"name":"AWS","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-29T11:21:13Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-29","last_verified_at":"2026-10-19T13:13:13Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":20,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":20},"description":"About Positron AI\nPositron AI is building next-generation AI inference accelerators designed from the ground up for low-latency, high-throughput large language model inference. Chips built for the training era keep running into two walls at inference time: memory bandwidth and chip-to-chip networking. We designed our architecture to break through both. Our first-generation Atlas systems are deploying in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Asimov, our first custom ASIC, takes that architecture to silicon. In simulations, Asimov delivers several times more tokens per dollar and tokens per watt than leading GPUs, at a fraction of the power. Paired in our Titan system, Asimov is built to serve models beyond 16 trillion parameters. In September 2026, we raised $875 million at a $5 billion valuation. NEA led the round, joined by Atreides Management, Valor Equity Partners, and others, to bring Asimov and Titan to market. Our team includes engineers from Groq, Lambda, NVIDIA, Meta, F5, and many other industry leaders.\nRole Overview\nWe're looking for a Senior Physical Design Engineer - Synth to own synthesis, timing convergence, and implementation readiness for key partitions across our AI accelerator roadmap. This is a hands-on engineering role responsible for turning high-quality RTL into implementation-ready netlists, developing and maintaining timing constraints, and driving physical-aware optimization in close collaboration with RTL designers and backend implementation partners. You will be a key technical link between architecture, RTL, verification, and physical implementation, working alongside senior technical leadership to strengthen and scale our synthesis methodology.\nKey Responsibilities\nSynthesis Execution & Methodology\nOwn synthesis for assigned partitions and subsystems, delivering clean, high-QoR netlists on schedule.\nContribute to the development and improvement of synthesis flows, including constraint development, timing budgeting, QoR optimization, incremental synthesis, and hierarchical implementation.\nHelp define and apply signoff criteria for synthesis deliverables.\nHands-On Synthesis & Constraint Development\nRun hands-on synthesis using industry-leading EDA tools, including Cadence Genus and Synopsys Design Compiler (or equivalent).\nDevelop and maintain SDC constraints, clock definitions, false paths, multicycle paths, generated clocks, and MMMC environments.\nTrack and continuously improve synthesis QoR for your blocks.\nTiming Closure\nDrive logical timing closure for assigned partitions, optimizing across frequency, area, power, congestion, and wireability.\nPerform root-cause analysis of timing bottlenecks and contribute to chip-level timing budgets.\nWork with architecture and RTL teams to identify and resolve timing risks before physical implementation.\nPhysical-Aware Optimization\nPartner with backend implementation engineers on physical-aware synthesis, retiming, register balancing, pipeline optimization, and logic restructuring.\nGive RTL teams actionable feedback so designs are implementation-friendly from the outset.\nCross-Functional Execution\nCollaborate with architecture, RTL, verification, physical design, DFT, IP providers, and backend design services to drive rapid issue resolution.\nVendor Collaboration\nWork with external implementation partners to review QoR, timing, and area reports, and support constraint methodology and acceptance criteria.\nAI-Enabled Engineering\nApply AI tools to improve timing analysis, QoR regression, constraint generation, timing debug, report analysis, documentation, and engineering automation.\nRequired Qualifications\n8+ years of ASIC implementation experience, including at least two successful tapeouts.\nStrong hands-on proficiency in synthesis and flow development.\nProven experience closing timing on complex, multi-million-gate designs.\nDeep working knowledge of Cadence Genus and/or Synopsys Design Compiler.\nStrong SDC expertise, including constraint development and MMMC environments.\nA solid grasp of RTL design principles and implementation-friendly coding practices.\nHands-on experience with advanced process nodes (7nm and below preferred).\nStrong Tcl and Python scripting ability for automation and flow development.\nExcellent debugging and root-cause analysis skills.\nPreferred Qualifications\nExperience with AI accelerators, CPUs, or GPUs.\nExperience at 5nm and below.\nFamiliarity with LPDDR, PCIe, or SerDes interfaces.\nExposure to chiplet-based architectures and multi-clock SoC designs.\nExperience mentoring junior engineers or leading synthesis for a subsystem.\nLeveling & Scope\nWhile this role is currently posted at a specific level, we are a growth-oriented organization and are open to hiring at a more senior level for the right candidate. This job description is a focused but generalized overview of the role; specific responsibilities and impact expectations will be tailored to the experience and seniority of the final hire.\nWhat Success Looks Like\nWithin one year, this person will have delivered predictable timing closure and high-QoR netlists for their assigned partitions, reduced implementation iterations through strong constraints and early RTL feedback, and made meaningful contributions to a scalable synthesis methodology that supports future ASIC generations.\nWhy Join Us?\nPlay a key role in synthesis and timing closure for next-generation AI inference accelerators.\nWork at the cutting edge of AI hardware, directly influencing chips built to power frontier AI workloads.\nGrow your technical scope alongside an experienced, high-caliber implementation team.\nCompensation & Benefits\nThe base salary range for this role is $200,000 - $300,000.\nThese figures represent the base salary range only and do not include other elements of our total compensation package, equity, or comprehensive benefits.\nAt Positron AI, we value the unique expertise each candidate brings. While the range above reflects our typical expectation for the position, we reserve the flexibility to exceed this range for candidates whose specialized skills, significant experience, or unique qualifications fall outside the standard scope of the role. Final offers are determined based on a variety of factors, including internal equity and individual impact.\nBenefits & Perks\nWe want you to do your best work and feel confident that you and your family are taken care of. That means comprehensive coverage, real time to rest, and support for your future.\nHealth and wellness\nFully company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your dependents\nCompany-paid life and disability coverage, with voluntary options to add more\nSupplemental hospital, critical illness, and accident coverage available\nTime off and flexibility\nUnlimited paid time off - we encourage everyone to truly unplug and recharge\n13 paid company holidays\nRemote-first culture with a company-provided computer and home office setup\nCompensation and future\nCompetitive salary and equity\n401(k) with company matching, eligible from day one\nVisa Support\nThis position is open to candidates currently authorized to work in the U.S. We cannot provide new visa sponsorship for this role but are open to facilitating H-1B visa transfers for eligible candidates.\nEqual Opportunity Employer. If you're excited about the role but don't meet every bullet, we'd still love to hear from you.","description_format":"text","description_chars":7383,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":8,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Home office","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United States","iso":"US","kind":"country"},{"name":"Canada","iso":"CA","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Servers & Data Center Hardware","AI Compute & Inference","AI Chips & Accelerators"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-30T12:03:16Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 5","filings_12m":5,"filings_prev_12m":1,"green_card_filings_12m":0,"median_offered_wage_usd":300500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-15T11:24:14+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":86,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.857,"p_room":1,"age_days":19,"expected_fill_days":63,"reasons":["conf:0","win:early"],"computed_at":"2026-10-19T05:45:15Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":300000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/positron-ai-physical-design-engineer-synth-senior","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/positron-ai-physical-design-engineer-synth-senior.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-19T15:50:16Z","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":11911,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-20T00:00:00Z"}},"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":63106},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=63106"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fpositron-ai-physical-design-engineer-synth-senior"},{"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%2Fpositron-ai-physical-design-engineer-synth-senior"},{"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%2Fpositron-ai-physical-design-engineer-synth-senior"},{"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/positron-ai-physical-design-engineer-synth-senior\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fpositron-ai-physical-design-engineer-synth-senior"}]}