Foundry Interface Engineer, ASIC- Proto

Block is one company built from many blocks, all united by the same purpose of economic empowerment. The blocks that form our foundational teams — People, Finance, Counsel, Hardware, Information Security, Platform Infrastructure Engineering, and more — provide support and guidance at the corporate level. They work across business groups and around the globe, spanning time zones and disciplines to develop inclusive People policies, forecast finances, give legal counsel, safeguard systems, nurture new initiatives, and more. Every challenge creates possibilities, and we need different perspectives to see them all. Bring yours to Block.

Team Overview

We believe everyone should be able to participate and thrive in the economy. We believe bitcoin plays an essential role in the future of payments and the world’s economy. We believe that the status quo of bitcoin mining does not serve the mission of the bitcoin ecosystem. So we’re building a bitcoin mining rig powered by a Block designed ASIC. With our mining rig, we can address many issues such as the concentration of hardware supply in certain countries and incompatibility with clean energy sources.

About the Role:

You will be part of the custom silicon team in Block that develops bitcoin mining ASIC.  In this role you will work closely with the foundry, design, and production test team to analyze wafer data, and to make recommendations for design and process tuning.

The Foundry Interface Engineer will engage with Foundry partners/third-party vendors as well as internal teams to continuously improve the design of our ASICs. This work will include partnering with OSAT to continuously monitor and review production wafer test data, and work with standard cell level circuit designers to analyze the results.  Based on the analysis the engineer will make requests to the foundry for process fine tuning.         

This is the first hire of its type for Proto, and is an opportunity for an experienced Process Engineer, Design Engineer or similar specialist in ASIC manufacturing and design to establish new processes in continuous improvement for our cutting edge ASICs. 

 

You Will

• Engage with Foundry partners/third-party vendors to manage foundry PDK/DK and design library collaterals

• Guide internal IP/design teams on appropriate usage of technology attributes/offerings in accordance with product requirements (e.g., performance, power, area, and cost). 

• Collaborate with internal third-party infrastructure, customization, test-chip, methodology, and packaging and product test engineering teams for seamless execution of product bring-up and productization.

•  Review and assess Foundry silicon data against SPICE/design goals and compile SPICE to Silicon gap analysis. Drive foundry partners on CIPs to improve foundry process to meet technology entitlement and product goals. 

• Work with foundry to identify potential device parameter changes to enable efficient low-voltage operation 

• Work closely with circuit designers to determine what device improvements could improve circuit performance and energy efficiency

• Work with test engineers to analyze and validate production wafer data

• Contribute to binning strategy to maximize parametric yield

 

You have:

• 10 + years  of post-education experience in FAB/Fabless environments, technology definition and bring-up, device/process architecture, and new product introduction

• Experience with foundry design kit, SPICE, DR/DRC evaluation, SPICE to Si assessment

• Experience with device physics (e.g. FinFET/GAA), backside power, product design phases

• Experience with product KPIs, DTCO, and parametric, DLY/PLY (Defect limited yield /Process Limited Yield) analysis/gap closure

• Understanding of low power design techniques (e.g., Vmin reduction, power gating, multi-voltage design, chip power, clock network and optimization)

• Understanding of layout effects and impact to circuit design

• Excellent statistical, data analysis, and communication skills

 

Nice to have experience

• Master's degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or other related Engineering field with emphasis on semiconductor materials/devices and device physics (not a substitute for professional experience)

• Production test development experience

• Familiar with advanced FinFET technology nodes (5nm and 3nm) 

• Familiar with PDK and device models 

• Previous work experience at semiconductor foundries 

• Familiar with standard cell design and layout

Block takes a market-based approach to pay, and pay may vary depending on your location. U.S. locations are categorized into one of four zones based on a cost of labor index for that geographic area. The successful candidate’s starting pay will be determined based on job-related skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. These ranges may be modified in the future.

US-A: $163,000-225,000

US-B: $152,200-209,200

US-C: $144,00-198,000

US-D: $135,800-186,700
 

To find a location’s zone designation, please refer to this resource. If a location of interest is not listed, please speak with a recruiter for additional information. 

Full-time employee benefits include the following:

• Healthcare coverage (Medical, Vision and Dental insurance)
• Health Savings Account and Flexible Spending Account
• Retirement Plans including company match 
• Employee Stock Purchase Program
• Wellness programs, including access to mental health, 1:1 financial planners, and a monthly wellness allowance 
• Paid parental and caregiving leave
• Paid time off (including 12 paid holidays)
• Paid sick leave (1 hour per 26 hours worked (max 80 hours per calendar year to the extent legally permissible) for non-exempt employees and covered by our Flexible Time Off policy for exempt employees) 
• Learning and Development resources
• Paid Life insurance, AD&D, and disability benefits 

These benefits are further detailed in Block's policies. This role is also eligible to participate in Block's equity plan subject to the terms of the applicable plans and policies, and may be eligible for a sign-on bonus. Sales roles may be eligible to participate in a commission plan subject to the terms of the applicable plans and policies. Pay and benefits are subject to change at any time, consistent with the terms of any applicable compensation or benefit plans.

We’re working to build a more inclusive economy where our customers have equal access to opportunity, and we strive to live by these same values in building our workplace. Block is a proud equal opportunity employer. We work hard to evaluate all employees and job applicants consistently, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, pregnancy, gender expression or identity, sexual orientation, citizenship, or any other legally protected class. 

We believe in being fair, and are committed to an inclusive interview experience, including providing reasonable accommodations to disabled applicants throughout the recruitment process. We encourage applicants to share any needed accommodations with their recruiter, who will treat these requests as confidentially as possible. Want to learn more about what we’re doing to build a workplace that is fair and square? Check out our I+D page.

Additionally, we consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment on our team, assessing candidates in a manner consistent with the requirements of the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.

 

We’ve noticed a rise in recruiting impersonations across the industry, where individuals are sending fake job offer emails. Contact from any of our recruiters or employees will always come from an email address ending with @block.xyz, @squareup.com, @tidal.com, or @afterpay.com, @clearpay.co.uk.

Block, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) is a global technology company with a focus on financial services. Made up of Square, Cash App, Spiral, TIDAL, and TBD, we build tools to help more people access the economy. Square helps sellers run and grow their businesses with its integrated ecosystem of commerce solutions, business software, and banking services. With Cash App, anyone can easily send, spend, or invest their money in stocks or Bitcoin. Spiral (formerly Square Crypto) builds and funds free, open-source Bitcoin projects. Artists use TIDAL to help them succeed as entrepreneurs and connect more deeply with fans. TBD is building an open developer platform to make it easier to access Bitcoin and other blockchain technologies without having to go through an institution.

While there is no specific deadline to apply for this role, on average, U.S. open roles are posted for 70 days before being filled by a successful candidate.

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