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.
Responsibilities
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.
Qualifications
- 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 screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to, the following specialized security screenings: Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud background check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.
- This role will require access to information that is controlled for export under export control regulations, potentially under the U.S. International Traffic in Arms Regulations or Export Administration Regulations, the EU Dual Use Regulation, and/or other export control regulations. As a condition of employment, the successful candidate will be required to provide either proof of their country of citizenship or proof of their US. residency or other protected status (e.g., under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)) for assessment of eligibility to access the export-controlled information. To meet this legal requirement, and as a condition of employment, the successful candidate’s citizenship will be verified with a valid passport. Lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees may verify status using other documents, where applicable.
Preferred Qualifications:
BS + 15 years / MS + 13 years of relevant experience in Physical Verification, Physical Design, or CAD methodology roles.
Hands‑on experience with Physical Verification checks, including DRC, LVS, ERC, Antenna, Metal Fill, etc.
Proficiency with industry‑standard PV tools, such as Calibre.
Scripting skills in at least one language (TCL, Python, Perl, or equivalent) for flow automation, debug, and data analysis.
Ability to debug complex, cross‑domain issues, reason about root cause (design vs flow vs tool), and drive issues to closure across teams.
3+ experience in managing LDAP and IdM environment or equivalent
7+ Years’ Linux Server Administration
Understanding of Microsoft Azure EntraID authentication methodology
3+ Years’ system automation experience such as Shell, Perl, or Python, Ansible
3+ Years supporting Engineering at a semiconductor company
Silicon Engineering IC5 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $142,800 - $274,800 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $188,000 - $304,200 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.
Skills Required
- Doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field plus 3 or more years of technical engineering experience; or a master's degree plus 6 or more years; or a bachelor's degree plus 8 or more years; or equivalent experience.
- Ability to pass Microsoft Cloud Background Check and other applicable Microsoft, customer, or government security screenings.
- Eligibility to access export-controlled information under applicable export control regulations, verified through citizenship, residency, or other protected-status documentation.
- Relevant experience in physical verification, physical design, or CAD methodology, preferably 15 years with a bachelor's degree or 13 years with a master's degree.
- Hands-on experience with DRC, LVS, ERC, antenna, metal fill, and related physical verification checks.
- Proficiency with industry-standard physical verification tools such as Calibre.
- Scripting experience with TCL, Python, Perl, or an equivalent language.
- Ability to debug complex cross-domain design, flow, and tool issues and drive resolutions across teams.
- Three or more years managing LDAP and Identity Management environments or equivalent.
- Seven or more years of Linux server administration experience.
- Understanding of Microsoft Azure Entra ID authentication methodology.
- Three or more years of system automation experience using Shell, Perl, Python, Ansible, or similar technologies.
- Three or more years supporting engineering teams at a semiconductor company.
Microsoft Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Microsoft and has not been reviewed or approved by Microsoft.
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Fair & Transparent Compensation — Pay is presented as broadly competitive overall, with clear role/level/location variation and an emphasis on using posted ranges and band information for apples-to-apples comparisons.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits are described as a standout, highlighted by a strong 401(k) match structure and immediate vesting, plus additional plan features for tax-advantaged saving.
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Parental & Family Support — Family-oriented benefits are portrayed as a meaningful strength, with substantial paid parental leave and added supports like back-up care and adoption/surrogacy assistance.
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