Senior Principal Integrated Circuit Process Design Kit (PDK) Developer
- Location:
- Linthicum, Maryland, United States of America
About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defense and cyberspace to meet the ever-evolving needs of our customers worldwide. Our 90,000 employees are Defining Possible every day using science, technology and engineering to create and deliver advanced systems, products and services. Northrop Grumman careers and internships are as varied as your interests, with a lifetime of potential that will allow you to work together with people from many backgrounds, personal passions and disciplines.
At Northrop Grumman our Integrated Circuit (IC) PDK Developers enjoy working on a variety of assignments across a broad range of topics and varying complexity. The IC PDK Developer will be called in to implement and lead the development of PDKs for a wide array of internal foundry technologies as well as augmenting existing commercial Foundry PDKs to allow Northrop Grumman circuit designers to develop discriminating capabilities. He/she will also work closely with management, designers, test, fabrication and integration engineers and foundry technologists to understand what is needed and provide the appropriate support to help the team accomplish assigned goals and tasks.
As an IC PDK Developer at Northrop Grumman, you can also effect change in how we pursue advanced technology development. If you see a better way to do things, you WILL have the opportunity to make those changes here at Northrop Grumman. The ideal candidate will have solid experiences in designing PDKs from scratch and familiarity with common industry EDA tools used in the design of Analog Integrated Circuits and/or ASICs.
Join us for the chance to work with an amazing, experienced, and talented team. We are expanding with new work on many development and production programs. If you want to work on a team where your coworkers are excited to come to work and solve problems, and where people are actively invested in their work, then Northrop Grumman is the right place for you.
Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):
Writing design verification rulefiles
Writing PDK techfiles
Writing skill-based P-Cells
Editing PDK model files
Writing scripts to create CAD capabilities
Reviewing PDK work of other PDK engineers
Maintaining PDK documentation
PDK configuration, release and deployment management
Leading PDK direction across multiple technologies
Champion and implement best practices and task automation
Interfacing with other foundry roles as a subject matter expert
Mentoring Junior/Mid-level PDK/CAD engineers
Participate in Agile project management workflows to drive projects to the finish line
Demonstrate capabilities to stakeholders and support for any feedback and modification
Basic qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in a technical area (BSEE or other Engineering discipline preferred) with 8 years of relevant experience (6 years with a MS, 3 years with a PhD)
Experience in interfacing with engineers and managers to schedule projects and provide schedule updates and roadmaps
Experience working closely with other foundry functions in the pursuit of process excellence
Strong analysis, design and problem-solving skills
Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
US Citizen with ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI with polygraph security clearance.
Preferred Qualifications:
Semiconductor device modeling experience
Knowledge of semiconductor process development, design, manufacturing and testing
Experience taking lab measurements on process control monitor (PCM) test structures or interpreting results from automated testing of those structures
Experience utilizing the Spectre simulator to verify models match measurements
Experience creating and/or augmenting IC PDKs for compatibility with microelectronics foundry processes
Solid knowledge of the Cadence Virtuoso environment AND DRC/LVS/PEX within Cadence DIVA, Assura or Mentor Graphics Calibre
Experience generating scripts (SKILL, Python, PERL, Ocean, Linux Shell, etc.) to provide capabilities within a CAD environment
Solid interpersonal and team skills for cross-functional collaboration, high attention to detail, ability to self-check work outputs and ability to lead technical projects, awareness of configuration management principles
Ability to be flexible and adaptable in fast-changing environments
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