Distributed Systems Engineer

AT CADENCE, WE HIRE AND DEVELOP LEADERS AND INNOVATORS WHO WANT TO MAKE AN IMPACT ON THE WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY. About the Role We're building a next-generation distributed transistor-level electromigration and IR drop analysis tool. Our team has strong expertise in numerical solvers and circuit simulation algorithms. We're looking for a motivated distributed systems engineer to help build the scalable data processing infrastructure for handling massive circuit designs across distributed computing resources. What You'll Build You'll contribute to the core distributed infrastructure for a Python-based platform orchestrating high-performance C++ solvers, working on: Data Pipeline & I/O Management * Build ingestion pipelines for large-scale netlists and simulation data * Implement high-performance I/O for multi-TB circuit databases * Develop serialization/deserialization layers bridging Python and C++ components * Design streaming interfaces for distributed solver results Job Orchestration & Workflow * Implement task distribution with fault-tolerant scheduling for long-running simulations * Develop resource management and load balancing across compute clusters * Build monitoring and observability for distributed workflows * Optimize task granularity and dependency management Visualization & Analytics * Develop scalable visualization for multi-dimensional TB-scale simulation results * Implement interactive data exploration with optimization techniques (downsampling, LOD, progressive rendering) Required Expertise Distributed Systems * 3+ years building distributed systems with Python * Experience with distributed computing frameworks (Dask, Spark, Ray, or Celery) * Understanding of distributed computing patterns, data locality, and fault tolerance Data Engineering * Experience with high-performance data formats (HDF5, Parquet, Arrow, or similar columnar formats) * Familiarity with data partitioning strategies and streaming patterns * Some exposure to Python/C++ interop (pybind11, nanobind) Software Engineering * Strong Python, C++ programming skills with production code experience * Comfortable working in large codebases and collaborative development environments * Understanding of software engineering best practices (testing, code review) Nice to Have * Background in EDA, VLSI, semiconductor design, or computational engineering * Experience with scientific/engineering data visualization * HPC experience with job schedulers (Slurm, PBS, LSF) * GPU acceleration knowledge * Familiarity with modern tools (Go, Plotly, Bokeh, Holoviews, Datashader) * Open-source distributed computing or other contributions * Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) Why Join Us We bring strong expertise in numerical methods and circuit analysis algorithms, well-defined solver interfaces, and a clear technical vision. You'll work alongside experienced engineers building greenfield distributed infrastructure with modern tools. This is an opportunity to grow your expertise in production-scale distributed systems while solving challenging problems in chip design. What You'll Learn * Production distributed systems architecture and patterns * Large-scale data pipeline design and optimization * Performance engineering for multi-TB datasets * Building reliable, observable infrastructure * Working with domain experts in circuit simulation and numerical methods Ideal Candidate You're eager to deepen your distributed systems expertise and excited about data pipeline architecture. You have foundational experience with Python distributed computing and want to tackle production-scale challenges. You're comfortable learning new technologies, asking questions, and collaborating with both systems and domain experts. You value clean code, observability, and user experience alongside performance. No circuit simulation expertise needed. We need your enthusiasm for building scalable, reliable infrastructure and your willingness to grow into a distributed systems expert. Position Location * This is a full-time, on-site position based in Burnaby (Greater Vancouver Area) Canada. In-office attendance is required. The annual salary range for British Columbia is 89,600 CAD to 166,400 CAD. You may also be eligible to receive incentive compensation: bonus, equity, and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the salary range is a guideline and compensation may vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies and work location. WE’RE DOING WORK THAT MATTERS. HELP US SOLVE WHAT OTHERS CAN’T.

The engineer will contribute to the core distributed infrastructure for a Python-based platform, focusing on building data ingestion pipelines for large-scale netlists and implementing high-performance I/O for multi-terabyte circuit databases. Responsibilities also include implementing fault-tolerant scheduling for task distribution across compute clusters and developing scalable visualization for simulation results.

Candidates must have 3+ years of experience building distributed systems using Python and familiarity with distributed computing frameworks like Dask, Spark, or Ray. Strong programming skills in both Python and C++ are required, along with experience in high-performance data formats and software engineering best practices.

• C++Preferred
• PythonPreferred

Identified from the job description. Confirm important requirements above.

• Distributed Systems
• Python
• Data Pipeline
• I/O Management
• C++
• Task Distribution
• Fault-Tolerant Scheduling
• Resource Management
• Load Balancing
• Monitoring
• Observability
• Data Engineering
• High-Performance Data Formats
• Software Engineering
• Numerical Solvers
• Circuit Simulation

• Engineering
• Software
• Data & Analytics
• Science & Research
• Technology

Minimum experience

3+ years

Posting language

English

Working hours

40 hours per week