Semiconductor & IC Design recruitment
Semiconductor and IC design is a niche within a niche: a small UK pool, long lead times, and specs detailed enough that screening against them takes someone who can read them.
Projects run eighteen months to several years from architecture to tape-out, which changes what a strong hire looks like. Continuity and depth across a small number of projects usually counts for more than a long list of short stints. We work analog, digital and mixed-signal IC design, along with the process and device engineering that sits beside it.
Recent work
Cambridge Mechatronics · Principal Analog & Digital IC Design Engineer
Cambridge Mechatronics: Two Principal IC Design Hires
2 principal IC Design hires, exclusive search
What this covers
- Analog IC design
- Digital IC design
- Mixed-signal design
- Physical design & layout
- Semiconductor process/device engineering
- Silicon validation & characterisation
Roles we place
What makes a strong Semiconductor & IC Design candidate
IC design candidates are usually assessed on the specific process node, design flow (Cadence, Synopsys, Mentor) and circuit domain, analog, digital, mixed-signal, they've worked in, since these skills don't transfer as freely as they might in other engineering disciplines. For analog and mixed-signal roles, a track record through silicon validation and characterisation, not just simulation, is a strong signal that a candidate understands how a design actually behaves once it exists as physical silicon. Given how long IC projects run, we also weight continuity: an engineer who saw two or three projects through from architecture to tape-out is often a stronger and lower-risk hire than one with a longer CV built from shorter, less complete engagements.
Where the talent sits
UK IC design capacity is concentrated rather than spread out - Cambridge (the UK's largest semiconductor cluster), Bristol, and a handful of specialist design houses elsewhere. Candidates in this discipline are used to being approached directly and rarely apply cold to job adverts, which shapes how a search here actually needs to run. Given how small and networked this talent pool is, candidates are more likely to move between the established design houses in a cluster than to relocate for a role outside it.
Typical hiring timeline
For contract briefs we typically go from brief to contractor offered in about 5 days. That's the company-wide figure; niche or cleared roles take longer.
Semiconductor & IC Design hiring: frequently asked questions
Hiring in Semiconductor & IC Design?
Tell us what the role needs to do. We'll come back with questions about the work, and an honest read on what the brief will take.