CENTRAL LYON - IT Engineer / EDA – Qualification of tools, models and IP

About the company

Department Presentation The Institut des Nanotechnologies de Lyon (INL) aims to develop multidisciplinary technological research in the field of micro and nanotechnology and its applications. The research conducted extends from materials to systems. The laboratory relies on the Lyon technological platform, Nanolyon.

Application areas cover major economic sectors: the semiconductor industry, information technologies, life and health technologies, energy, and the environment.

The laboratory is multi-site, with locations on the Ecully and Lyon-Tech La Doua campuses. It brings together approximately 240 people, including 120 permanent staff. INL is a major player in the Research and Teaching Hub.

This position is located in an innovative environment, at the cutting edge of future technologies, in strategic application sectors.

Your tasks

Presentation of the theme(s) The PHOENIX program is a large-scale national project (€17M, 5 years) funded by France 2030, aiming to structure a French hub for integrated circuit design, including chiplets and EDA methods enhanced by AI. It involves several CNRS laboratories (INL, TIMA, IRISA, IETR, LIP6, LIRMM, LAMIH, IMS, Lab Hubert Curien, Lab-STICC…), CEA-LIST, as well as numerous academic and industrial partners.

In this context, we are recruiting an IT Engineer / EDA responsible for the qualification of tools, models, and IP blocks used and developed within PHOENIX, in close interaction with research teams, doctoral students, and industrial partners. Description of the mission(s) / activities

• Set up, maintain, and evolve the design software environment (EDA flow) for the PHOENIX consortium partners (CAD, simulation, characterization, PDK, IP).
• Qualify EDA tools (commercial and open source), device models, and IP blocks: definition of test benches, performance metrics, evaluation protocols, and validation reports.
• Participate in the integration and evaluation of AI-augmented EDA methods (flow optimization, model generation, automatic analysis of results, etc.).
• Provide technical support to teams (installation, configuration, troubleshooting, interface with tool vendors and local IT teams).
• Contribute to the writing of technical project deliverables: specification documents, qualification reports, user guides for tools and IP.
• Implement best practices for version management, traceability of results, and flow automation (scripts, CI/CD, containerization).
• Participate in technological monitoring of EDA tools, IP libraries, advanced computing technologies, and propose evolutions for the software park.

Requirements

Profile sought / Expected skills________________________________

Degrees: Engineering degree, Master 2, or PhD in computer science, microelectronics, or a related field. Experience: Entry-level accepted

Operational skills

• Solid skills in EDA (front-end and/or back-end): RTL, synthesis, P&R, extraction, simulation (SPICE, mixed-signal, etc.), PDK, characterization.
• Mastery of scripting and automation (Python, Shell, Make, or equivalent) and comfort with Linux environments.
• Desired knowledge of hardware architectures for AI, emerging technologies, or chiplet design.
• Strong interest in software quality and validation: testing, metrics, reproducibility, documentation.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work in a team within a multi-site and multidisciplinary environment.
• Proficiency in French and good practice of technical English (exchanges with partners and suppliers, report writing).

Other

The position is in a sector subject to the protection of scientific and technical potential (PPST), and therefore, in accordance with regulations, requires that your arrival be authorized by the competent authority of the MESR.

Work context / Work environment_______________________________

• Main location: Ecole Centrale de Lyon (Ecully, Lyon), with occasional travel to partner sites.