Skip to Physical Design Engineer interview questions

Floorplan · timing · physical signoff

Physical Design Engineer Interview Questions

Follow the RTL-to-GDS flow through floorplanning, routing, clock and timing constraints, signal integrity, power integrity, physical ECOs, and multi-corner signoff decisions.

26questions6technical areas4linked guides

Question directory

Choose the problem before the explanation.

Filter the complete Physical Design Engineer collection, then open the exact question page. Difficulty and subscriber access stay visible without obscuring the title.

Difficulty
Showing 26 of 26All questions visible
  1. Q080Physical DesignOrder an RTL-to-GDS flowPhysical design · RTL-to-GDSEasy
  2. Q996Physical DesignMatch a physical-signoff failure to its fixDesign · Physical designMediumP
  3. Q281Physical DesignFloorplan a four-bank SRAM subsystemDesign · SRAMMedium
  4. Q628Physical DesignFirst response to a macro-channel hotspotDesign · Physical designEasyP
  5. Q345Physical DesignRelieve localized routing congestionDesign · Physical DesignEasyP
  6. Q321Physical DesignTrade speed for leakage with multi-Vt cellsDesign · Physical DesignEasyP
  7. Q525Physical DesignChoose a localized IR-drop repairDesign · Physical designMediumP
  8. Q470Physical DesignMinimum parallel straps for IR and EM limitsDesign · Power integrityHardP
  9. Q1051Physical DesignScale distributed-wire delay with lengthDesign · Physical DesignEasyP
  10. Q1070Physical DesignPredict opposite-direction crosstalk delayDesign · Physical DesignEasyP
  11. Q780Physical DesignExplain the routing antenna effectDesign · Physical DesignEasyP
  12. Q212TimingSeparate skew, jitter, latency, and uncertaintyDesign · STAEasy
  13. Q580Design VerificationCompare static timing analysis with timing simulationDV · DesignEasyP
  14. Q595TimingCalculate setup and hold slack with clock latencyDesign · STAMediumP
  15. Q114TimingClassify timing-path startpoints and endpointsDesign · STAEasy
  16. Q1097Clock and Reset DomainsReview and scope false-path candidatesDesign · CDCMediumP
  17. Q332Static Timing AnalysisDistinguish clock-group relationship typesDesign · TimingEasyP
  18. Q426Static Timing AnalysisChoose first-order setup and hold fixesDesign · TimingEasyP
  19. Q644Static Timing AnalysisFind fmax for a half-cycle timing pathDesign · TimingMediumP
  20. Q715Static Timing AnalysisUse different setup and hold uncertaintyDesign · TimingMediumP
  21. Q816Static Timing AnalysisExplain CRPR in a timing reportDesign · TimingEasyP
  22. Q1012Static Timing AnalysisExplain OCV derates and temperatureDesign · TimingMediumP
  23. Q1025Timing and STAPair setup and hold multicycle constraintsDesign · STAMediumP
  24. Q923Timing and STAConstrain a source-synchronous read strobeDesign · STAMediumP
  25. Q267Timing and STAChoose coupled setup and hold ECOsDesign · STAHard
  26. Q965Timing and STAMinimum cells for two-corner closureDesign · STAHardP

Coverage map

See what the collection actually contains.

The bars count questions in this prepared role path. Team scope and interview emphasis vary by employer.

  • Easy13
  • Medium10
  • Hard3

Related learning

Review the concept, then return to the question.

These are the guides most often linked by questions in this collection.

  1. 01Physical ImplementationReview floorplanning, clocks, routing, congestion, power integrity, and reliability.8
  2. 02Timing Paths and Physical RealityReview launch, data, capture, slack, skew, variation, placement, routing, and parasitics.8
  3. 03Synthesis and ConstraintsReview inference, mapping, clocks, I/O timing, relationships, modes, corners, and exceptions.6
  4. 04Closure and SignoffReview coupled timing fixes, MMMC views, equivalence, test modes, and release evidence.4
Physical Design Engineer question bankAttempt the prompts with the collection filter applied.

Keep the directory open for review, or move into the full question bank to track answers and reveal authorized solutions.

Open filtered practice