Entry Level Physical Design Engineer Jobs
New grad physical design engineer jobs are open to recent graduates and entry level candidates with zero to two years of experience, where strong internship work or a portfolio of tape-out projects can matter more than a long resume. Most openings are on-site roles across Consulting & Professional Services, Electronics & Hardware, and Technology & Software, with employers like NVIDIA, Apple, and Jacobs hiring at this level now.
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Showing 4 of 15+ Entry Level Physical Design Engineer jobs
Do you love creating elegant solutions to highly complex challenges? Do you intrinsically see the importance in every detail? As part of our Silicon Technologies group, you’ll help design and manufacture our next-generation, high-performance, power-efficient processor, system-on-chip (SoC). You’ll ensure Apple products and services can seamlessly and efficiently handle the tasks that make them beloved by millions. Joining this group means you’ll be responsible for crafting and building the technology that fuels Apple’s devices. Together, you and your team will enable our customers to do all the things they love with their devices.
As part of the Hardware Technology CAD team, you’ll help design our next-generation, high-performance, power-efficient SoCs. You will work on world class CPU, GPU, Analog/Mixed Signal and SOC designs by developing flows, tools and methodologies for future Apple products! You will explore and enable new technology nodes, stdcells and tools for design teams. You will collaborate with design teams and tool vendors to improve PPA (Power, Performance, Area) and design productivity. You will use and leverage GenAI tools to develop GenAI applications to improve Design team productivity. You will actively work on developing internal methodologies using your understanding of CAD algorithms and ML. We are looking for passionate engineers to join our team. In this role, you will be impacting a wide range of chips used across Apple’s world-class products!
Description
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Participating and engaging with cross functional teams to tackle key physical design challenges.
-
Developing innovative solutions in physical design and optimization space.
-
Developing and supporting implementation flows for multiple projects and design teams.
-
Developing and maintaining custom CAD tools for implementation and signoff.
-
Creating flows to enable successful deployment of new technology nodes.
-
Developing tools and methodologies for best-in-class PPA and productivity including ML based solutions.
-
Use and leverage GenAI tools to develop GenAI applications to improve Design team productivity.
-
Collaborating with other teams such as physical design verification, RC extraction, IR and static timing analysis (STA).
-
Working directly with EDA tool vendors to resolve tool issues and identify areas for tool improvements.
Minimum Qualifications
Knowledge of Tcl, Python or Perl scripting languages
Minimum requirement of BS
Preferred Qualifications
Good understanding of VLSI / Physical Design basics through previous coursework or internships
Exposure to CAD Tool, CAD flow or PD methodology.
Understanding of some of the analysis involved in Physical Design - extraction, timing, noise, physical verification, EMIR.
Pay & Benefits
At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $129,300 and $194,700, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.
Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple's discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple's Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You'll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses - including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits
Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.
Do you love creating elegant solutions to highly complex challenges? Do you intrinsically see the importance in every detail? As part of our Silicon Technologies group, you’ll help design and manufacture our next-generation, high-performance, power-efficient processor, system-on-chip (SoC). You’ll ensure Apple products and services can seamlessly and efficiently handle the tasks that make them beloved by millions. Joining this group means you’ll be responsible for crafting and building the technology that fuels Apple’s devices. Together, you and your team will enable our customers to do all the things they love with their devices.
As part of the Hardware Technology CAD team, you’ll help design our next-generation, high-performance, power-efficient SoCs. You will work on world class CPU, GPU, Analog/Mixed Signal and SOC designs by developing flows, tools and methodologies for future Apple products! You will explore and enable new technology nodes, stdcells and tools for design teams. You will collaborate with design teams and tool vendors to improve PPA (Power, Performance, Area) and design productivity. You will use and leverage GenAI tools to develop GenAI applications to improve Design team productivity. You will actively work on developing internal methodologies using your understanding of CAD algorithms and ML. We are looking for passionate engineers to join our team. In this role, you will be impacting a wide range of chips used across Apple’s world-class products!
Description
-
Participating and engaging with cross functional teams to tackle key physical design challenges.
-
Developing innovative solutions in physical design and optimization space.
-
Developing and supporting implementation flows for multiple projects and design teams.
-
Developing and maintaining custom CAD tools for implementation and signoff.
-
Creating flows to enable successful deployment of new technology nodes.
-
Developing tools and methodologies for best-in-class PPA and productivity including ML based solutions.
-
Use and leverage GenAI tools to develop GenAI applications to improve Design team productivity.
-
Collaborating with other teams such as physical design verification, RC extraction, IR and static timing analysis (STA).
-
Working directly with EDA tool vendors to resolve tool issues and identify areas for tool improvements.
Minimum Qualifications
Knowledge of Tcl, Python or Perl scripting languages
Minimum requirement of BS
Preferred Qualifications
Good understanding of VLSI / Physical Design basics through previous coursework or internships
Exposure to CAD Tool, CAD flow or PD methodology.
Understanding of some of the analysis involved in Physical Design - extraction, timing, noise, physical verification, EMIR.
Pay & Benefits
At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $129,300 and $194,700, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.
Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple's discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple's Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You'll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses - including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits
Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.
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Entry Level Physical Design Engineer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get an entry level physical design engineer job?
Employers hiring at the entry level look for candidates who can demonstrate hands-on exposure to place-and-route tools such as Cadence Innovus or Synopsys ICC2, even through coursework or internships. A portfolio showing floorplanning, timing closure, or physical verification work gives you a concrete edge. Applying to companies that explicitly list zero to two years of experience keeps your search focused on roles built for this stage.
Which companies hire entry level physical design engineers?
Companies hiring entry level physical design engineers right now include NVIDIA, Apple, and Jacobs, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. At this level, hiring tends to come from semiconductor firms, fabless chip designers, and large technology companies with dedicated silicon teams that onboard new engineers into structured rotational or mentored programs.
Are there remote entry level physical design engineer jobs?
Yes, though on-site roles remain more common at the entry level. About 14% of entry level physical design engineer openings are remote or hybrid as of September 2026, reflecting the lab-dependent and collaboration-heavy nature of chip design work. Hybrid arrangements are more common at larger employers, while fully remote roles at this level are less frequent.
Are these new grad physical design engineer jobs?
Yes, the listings here include new grad, recent graduate, and junior physical design engineer roles. A posting is new-grad friendly when it welcomes candidates with zero to two years of experience, accepts internship or university project work in place of professional experience, or specifically mentions degree requirements over years on the job. Applying to these roles does not require a long work history.
Which industries hire the most entry level physical design engineers?
Entry Level physical design engineer roles concentrate in Consulting & Professional Services, Electronics & Hardware, and Technology & Software, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of September 2026. Those sectors drive hiring at this level because they run active silicon development programs and regularly bring on junior engineers to support growing design teams and next-generation chip programs.