About Etched
Etched is building the world’s first AI inference system purpose-built for transformers - delivering over 10x higher performance and dramatically lower cost and latency than a B200. With Etched ASICs, you can build products that would be impossible with GPUs, like real-time video generation models and extremely deep & parallel chain-of-thought reasoning agents. Backed by hundreds of millions from top-tier investors and staffed by leading engineers, Etched is redefining the infrastructure layer for the fastest growing industry in history.
Job Summary
As a Substrate IC Package Layout Design Engineer you will be responsible for the end-to-end design of complex IC substrate packages, supporting high-power consumption and high-speed signaling. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience with large substrate designs (>50mm), complex power delivery networks, and high-speed signaling solutions (up to and beyond 50GHz). You will work closely with silicon, signal integrity, power integrity, and system help co-design world class substates with OSAT providers. Intense focus on optimization for power delivery through substrate, pushing what’s possible.
Key responsibilities
IC Substrate Layout Design
Lead the design and development of complex IC substrate layouts for high-power AI processors and accelerators.
Design large (>50mm) and complex multi-layer substrate packages with high pin counts and dense routing requirements.
Ensure robust power delivery designs capable of supporting >700W custom silicon solutions.
High-Speed Signal Routing & Integrity
Develop high-speed signal routing solutions capable of supporting >50GHz signaling while minimizing signal integrity issues such as loss and crosstalk.
Collaborate with SI/PI engineers to define signal integrity and power integrity requirements and implement solutions in substrate layout.
Advanced Packaging & CoWoS Integration
Optimize CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) interposer designs for thermal and electrical performance.
Work closely with chip design, packaging, and manufacturing teams to ensure design feasibility and manufacturability.
Design Validation & Verification
Perform DRC (Design Rule Check) and LVS (Layout vs. Schematic) verification for all substrate designs.
Develop and maintain design documentation and guidelines for future substrate designs.
Support design reviews and provide technical guidance to junior team members.
You may be a good fit if you have
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
10+ years of experience in IC substrate layout design for high-performance processors or accelerators.
Extensive experience with large substrate packages (>50mm) and complex high-density layouts.
Proven experience with high-power (700W+) package designs and robust power delivery networks.
Expertise in high-speed signaling design (>50GHz) and mitigating signal integrity challenges (crosstalk, reflections, impedance mismatches).
Strong experience with CoWoS (Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate) interposer design and the impact of the substrate design to support CoWos.
Advanced proficiency in Allegro Package Designer (including constraint management, routing, and design verification).
Deep understanding of SI/PI principles and how they apply to package-level design.
Strong analytical skills and ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, cross-functional team environment.
Benefits
Competitive compensation packages, including generous equity packages
Comprehensive insurance coverage and other top-of-market benefits
How we’re different
Etched believes in the Bitter Lesson. We think most of the progress in the AI field has come from using more FLOPs to train and run models, and the best way to get more FLOPs is to build model-specific hardware. Larger and larger training runs encourage companies to consolidate around fewer model architectures, which creates a market for single-model ASICs.
We are a fully in-person team in San Jose and Taipei, and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both as needed.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
- 10+ years of experience in IC substrate layout design for high-performance processors or accelerators
- Extensive experience with large substrate packages over 50mm and complex high-density layouts
- Experience designing high-power package designs supporting 700W or more
- Expertise in high-speed signaling above 50GHz and mitigating crosstalk, reflections, and impedance mismatches
- Strong experience with CoWoS interposer design
- Advanced proficiency in Allegro Package Designer, including constraint management, routing, and design verification
- Deep understanding of signal integrity and power integrity principles for package-level design
- Strong analytical skills
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, cross-functional team environment
Etched Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Etched and has not been reviewed or approved by Etched.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity growth is described as strong and significant equity is part of the package. High total compensation for technical roles reinforces the equity-led upside.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision coverage include generous premium support, indicating robust core healthcare. This reduces employee cost exposure for essential coverage.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Daily lunch and dinner, a housing subsidy for those living near the office, relocation support, and wellness perks are highlighted. These offerings lower day-to-day living costs and support practical wellbeing.
Etched Insights
What We Do
By burning the transformer architecture into our chips, we’re creating the world’s most powerful servers for transformer inference.
