Jobs › Hudson River Trading

Physical Design Engineer

Hudson River Trading · Chicago, IL · Trading Tech

Posted Oct 1, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

About your past

Tell me about a time you found congestion or IR drop late in a project. What did you do?

What they are checking: How they diagnose and recover from physical issues under schedule pressure.

What scripts or tooling have you built to make physical design flows repeatable?

What they are checking: Whether they automate flows and build insight into design behavior instead of tuning by hand.

What would you do

The RTL team wants a feature that you can see will make timing very hard. When and how do you raise that?

What they are checking: Whether they influence design decisions early instead of inheriting a problem at handoff.

If you had to own physical design for a chip with a very small team, how would you decide where to spend your effort?

What they are checking: Versatility and prioritization, since the posting asks for a broad skill set on a growing team.

About the work

Walk me through the flow you've used from RTL handoff to GDSII, and where you've spent most of your time.

What they are checking: Real hands-on experience across the full flow rather than familiarity with one step.

You're failing setup timing on a critical path in one corner but passing in others. How do you approach closing it?

What they are checking: Practical multi-corner timing closure skill and knowing which fixes help without breaking other corners.

How do you set up a floorplan for a latency-critical design where a few paths matter far more than the rest?

What they are checking: Whether they think about placement for latency first, which differs from a design built only for throughput.

How have you implemented DFT, and what did it cost you in area or timing?

What they are checking: Whether they understand scan, test compression and their tradeoffs, since the role drives DFT.

How do you trade off power, performance and area when the main goal is lowest latency?

What they are checking: Whether they can adjust PPA priorities to the goal of the product rather than following defaults.

What changes when you move to a leading-edge process node, and what has surprised you?

What they are checking: Experience with advanced node effects like variability, wire resistance and stricter rules.

How do you find and fix electromigration violations without blowing up area?

What they are checking: Knowledge of power grid and wire sizing choices and how they interact with other goals.

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The full job description

As published by Hudson River Trading.

Hudson River Trading (HRT) is seeking a Physical Design Engineer with a broad, versatile skillset to join our growing Hardware team. In this role, you will help deliver performance-critical ASICs and advance our physical design methodologies on leading-edge process nodes. The Hardware team at HRT builds high-performance compute engines using FPGA and ASIC technology to drive low-latency trading decisions on global markets. We create custom solutions across the full spectrum of speed and sophistication, from bespoke circuits to world-class machine learning accelerators. Responsibilities • Drive design-for-test (DFT) methodologies and implementation&nbsp; • Contribute to physical implementation, from RTL handoff through GDSII on advanced process nodes&nbsp; • Partner on floorplanning and physical optimization for high-performance, latency-critical designs • Close timing across multiple modes and corners while optimizing power, performance, and area (PPA) • Diagnose and resolve physical design issues such as timing bottlenecks, congestion, and IR/EM violations • Build, maintain, and improve repeatable, automated physical design flows • Develop scripts and tooling to improve productivity, robustness, and insight into design behavior • Collaborate closely with RTL, architecture, and other hardware engineers to influence design decisions early Qualifications • Experience working in high-performance ASIC design environments • Strong fundamentals in digital logic, circuit design, and process technology • Familiarity with DFT concepts and testing methodologies • Strong scripting and automation skills (Python, Tcl, shell), including parsing and analyzing tool outputs • Ability to design robust methodologies, diagnose complex failures, and improve physical design flows • Applied use of statistics in analyzing timing, power, or design data (preferred) • Hands-on experience with static timing analysis and timing closure methodologies • Expertise using industry-standard physical design and signoff tools (e.g., Innovus, PrimeTime) This job is accepting ongoing applications and there is no application deadline. The estimated base salary range for this position is 200,000 to 300,000 USD per year (or local equivalent). The base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. This role will also be eligible for discretionary performance-based bonuses and a competitive benefits package which includes medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, and enrollment in our company’s retirement savings plans. Employees will receive sick and parental leave, as well as other paid time off (including 20 vacation days and 10 paid holidays in the US). Please note that benefits and time off policies will vary across non-US locations. In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information. Culture <span data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Hudson River Trading (HRT) brings a scientific approach to trading financial products. We have built one of the world's most sophisticated computing environments for research and development. Our researchers are at the forefront of innovation in the world of algorithmic trading. \n\nAt HRT we come from a variety of disciplines: mathematics and computer science, physics, and engineering, media and tech. We’re a community of self-starters who are motivated by the excitement of being at the cutting edge of automation in every part of our organization - from trading, to business operations, to recruiting and beyond. Our culture celebrates great ideas whether they come from HRT veterans or new hires. At HRT we’re friends and colleagues – whether we are sharing a meal, playing the latest board game, or writing elegant code. We embrace a culture of togetherness that extends far beyond the walls of our office.\n\nFeel like you belong at HRT? Our goal is to find the best people and bring them together to do great work in a place where everyone is valued. HRT is proud of our diverse staff; we have offices all over the globe and benefit from our varied and unique perspectives. HRT is an equal opportunity employer; so whoever you are we’d love to get to know you."}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":13185,"3":{"1":0},"10":1,"11":4,"12":0,"15":"IBM Plex Sans","16":11}" data-sheets-textstyleruns="{"1":0}{"1":328,"2":{"2":{"1":2,"2":16711935}}}{"1":402}{"1":917,"2":{"2":{"1":2,"2":16711935}}}{"1":945}">Hudson River Trading (HRT) brings a scientific approach to trading financial products. We have built one of the world's most sophisticated computing environments for research and development. Our researchers are at the forefront of innovation in the world of algorithmic trading. At HRT we welcome a variety of expertise: mathematics and computer science, physics and engineering, media and tech. We’re a community of self-starters who are motivated by the excitement of being at the cutting edge of automation in every part of our organization—from trading, to business operations, to recruiting and beyond. We value openness and transparency, and celebrate great ideas from HRT veterans and new hires alike. At HRT we’re friends and colleagues – whether we are sharing a meal, playing the latest board game, or writing elegant code. We embrace a culture of togetherness that extends far beyond the walls of our office. Feel like you belong at HRT? Our goal is to find the best people and bring them together to do great work in a place where everyone is valued. HRT is proud of our diverse staff; we have offices all over the globe and benefit from our varied and unique perspectives. HRT is an equal opportunity employer; so whoever you are we’d love to get to know you. Please be advised: Use of AI tools by an applicant during interviews or assessments is strictly prohibited, unless otherwise instructed or agreed upon. We employ various methods to evaluate the authenticity of candidate responses. If we determine that AI assistance was used by an applicant during an interview or an assessment, we reserve the right to immediately end the interview or assessment, disqualify the applicant’s candidacy and/or rescind any job offers extended. <span data-sheets-value="{"1":2,"2":"Hudson River Trading (HRT) brings a scientific approach to trading financial products. We have built one of the world's most sophisticated computing environments for research and development. Our researchers are at the forefront of innovation in the world of algorithmic trading. \n\nAt HRT we come from a variety of disciplines: mathematics and computer science, physics, and engineering, media and tech. We’re a community of self-starters who are motivated by the excitement of being at the cutting edge of automation in every part of our organization - from trading, to business operations, to recruiting and beyond. Our culture celebrates great ideas whether they come from HRT veterans or new hires. At HRT we’re friends and colleagues – whether we are sharing a meal, playing the latest board game, or writing elegant code. We embrace a culture of togetherness that extends far beyond the walls of our office.\n\nFeel like you belong at HRT? Our goal is to find the best people and bring them together to do great work in a place where everyone is valued. HRT is proud of our diverse staff; we have offices all over the globe and benefit from our varied and unique perspectives. HRT is an equal opportunity employer; so whoever you are we’d love to get to know you."}" data-sheets-userformat="{"2":13185,"3":{"1":0},"10":1,"11":4,"12":0,"15":"IBM Plex Sans","16":11}" data-sheets-textstyleruns="{"1":0}{"1":328,"2":{"2":{"1":2,"2":16711935}}}{"1":402}{"1":917,"2":{"2":{"1":2,"2":16711935}}}{"1":945}">You can review our Global Applicant Privacy Notice , which explains how we process applicant information. &nbsp;

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