Computational Electromagnetics Engineer – Signal Integrity

Vinci • Palo Alto, CA

11h

About The Position

Vinci4D is seeking a computational electromagnetics engineer with deep signal integrity simulation expertise in the semiconductor and electronics industry. The role focuses on designing and implementing electromagnetic solver capabilities for Vinci4D’s multi-physics platform, spanning signal integrity analysis, frequency- and time-domain full-wave methods, and quasi-static extraction. The engineer will contribute domain expertise to signal integrity, power integrity, and EM-thermal coupling workflows for semiconductor packaging and PCB design.

This is a solver-development position rather than a customer simulation role. The engineer will formulate problems mathematically, implement discretisations, validate results against reference solutions, and integrate capabilities into a coupled multi-physics framework. Work includes full-wave solvers for packages, vias, connectors, and PCB interconnects; S-parameter extraction and channel analysis; quasi-static parasitic extraction; EM-to-thermal coupling; and validation infrastructure. Outputs should be familiar to SI engineers, including S-parameters, eye diagrams, impedance profiles, and RLGC matrices.

Requirements

• Deep working knowledge of computational electromagnetics, including FDTD, FDFD, and quasi-static methods, their appropriate uses, and their failure modes.
• Hands-on experience with signal integrity simulation for the semiconductor industry, such as high-speed channel analysis, package and via characterisation, transmission-line extraction, crosstalk, or PDN impedance, with understanding of the underlying numerics.
• Understanding of the full SI simulation workflow, from 3D EM field solutions through S-parameter extraction and channel simulation to eye-diagram and margin analysis.
• Experience implementing FDTD solvers, including the Yee-cell staggered update, CFL stability, PML or other absorbing boundary conditions, and port-based S-parameter extraction using Fourier analysis of time-domain responses.
• Experience with frequency-domain EM (FDFD or equivalent), including complex material properties, frequency sweeps, and direct or iterative solution of sparse complex linear systems.
• Experience with quasi-static field solvers for resistive, capacitive, and inductive parasitic extraction, including frequency-dependent skin-effect modelling.
• Proficiency in C++ and/or Python in a performance-critical scientific computing context.
• Strong software engineering practices, including Git, code review, automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and regression testing against reference solutions.
• Four to eight years of industry or research experience in computational electromagnetics applied to semiconductor packaging, PCB design, or high-speed electronics.
• Experience working within or closely alongside EDA-adjacent workflows, understanding how EM simulation outputs connect to circuit simulators, layout tools, and SI sign-off flows.
• A track record of delivering validated, production-quality solver code or extraction tools rather than only academic prototypes.
• Ability to communicate EM concepts clearly to a multidisciplinary team that includes thermal engineers, CFD specialists, and software engineers without a CEM background.
• Collaborative approach, willingness to document formulations and write readable code, and ability to help teammates understand the physics.
• Comfort with ambiguity and evolving requirements, and ability to assess numerical formulations when the correct approach is not obvious upfront.
• Self-directed, ownership-oriented approach to work from mathematical formulation through implementation, validation, and integration.

Nice To Haves

• Working knowledge of high-speed interface standards relevant to semiconductor packaging, such as PCIe, DDR5/6, HBM, LPDDR, or equivalent SerDes interfaces above 10 Gbps.
• Experience with S-parameter characterisation and Touchstone file workflows, including generating, validating, and consuming multi-port S-parameter models in a production SI context.
• Understanding of the scale hierarchy in SI simulation, including the scope of quasi-static extraction, where full-wave treatment is required, and how the methods combine in a channel model.
• Familiarity with EM-thermal coupling in high-speed packaging or power electronics, including deriving Ohmic heating from EM field solutions and using it as a thermal source term.
• Experience with GPU acceleration of EM solvers, such as FDTD on CUDA, batched sparse solvers for frequency-domain systems, or matrix-free Krylov methods.
• Familiarity with domain decomposition methods for EM problems, such as Schwarz iterations, Robin transmission conditions, or Schur complement approaches.
• Background in Method of Moments or boundary integral formulations, particularly for PCB power plane or EMC applications.
• Experience with EM model order reduction, including rational fitting (vector fitting), passivity enforcement, or PRIMA-type approaches for compact S-parameter models.
• Familiarity with power integrity, including PDN impedance, simultaneous switching noise, and decoupling capacitor placement.
• Experience with co-packaged optics or photonic integration and package-level RF-photonic SI challenges.
• Graduate degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in electrical engineering, applied mathematics, computational physics, or a related field with a CEM or SI focus.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement frequency-domain and time-domain full-wave EM solvers for IC package, via, connector, and PCB interconnect structures at GHz frequencies.
• Develop S-parameter port extraction workflows, including waveport and lumped port excitations, Fourier transformation of time-domain responses, and Touchstone-format output.
• Build signal integrity analysis capabilities for transmission-line characterisation, via resonance prediction, crosstalk analysis, and eye-diagram generation from simulated channel responses.
• Implement FDTD methods with PML absorbing boundary conditions for broadband signal integrity and EMI analysis, including Gaussian pulse excitation and wideband S-parameter extraction.
• Develop quasi-static field solvers for resistive, capacitive, and inductive parasitic extraction, including frequency-dependent skin-effect corrections and RLGC outputs for SPICE and channel simulation.
• Build an EM-to-thermal coupling layer that computes volumetric Ohmic dissipation from EM field solutions and passes it as a source term to the thermal solver, supporting iterative coupling with temperature-dependent material properties.
• Develop and maintain validation infrastructure, including convergence tests, golden-output comparisons against commercial reference tools, and SI-specific benchmarks.
• Collaborate with the team to integrate EM capabilities into the Vinci app and deliver outputs in formats used by SI engineers.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation with equity participation.
• Flexible work environment.
• Opportunity to work on technically challenging problems at the intersection of EM, thermal, and multi-physics simulation.
• Opportunity to contribute visibly to the product and shape its technical architecture.
• Opportunity to build a product from scratch and help define the future of electronics simulation.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed