Electrical Engineer - Instrumentation

Picarro, Inc • Santa Clara, CA

2h • $110,000 - $120,000 • Onsite

About The Position

We are looking for an Electrical Engineer to design, develop, and troubleshoot custom electronics for a Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) product. You will work across analog, digital, and mixed-signal circuits, taking designs from concept through schematic/PCB layout, prototype bring-up, test/validation, and support in manufacturing.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering (or equivalent practical experience)
• 3+ years of hands-on experience designing and debugging electronics (preferably for instrumentation, sensors, or embedded systems)
• Strong fundamentals in circuit analysis and electronics: analog + digital, mixed-signal interfaces, and signal integrity basics
• Demonstrated experience with board bring-up, prototyping, soldering/rework, and hardware debugging
• Proficiency with schematic capture and PCB design tools (Altium preferred; OrCAD/KiCad acceptable)
• Comfortable using lab equipment: oscilloscope, DMM, power supplies, function generator; logic analyzer experience is a plus
• Strong problem-solving, documentation, and communication skills
• Able to work effectively across disciplines

Nice To Haves

• Precision analog / low-noise design (TIA, photodiode front-ends, ADC/DAC interfaces, reference/clock design)
• Power architecture experience (switching regulators + LDOs, grounding strategy, ripple/noise control, sequencing, protection)
• Experience with embedded hardware interfaces (SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, USB, Ethernet) and supporting firmware teams during integration
• EMC/EMI and compliance awareness; experience designing for noisy environments and mixed analog/digital layouts
• Experience in regulated or high-reliability products (documentation discipline, design reviews, test coverage)
• Exposure to optoelectronics/instrumentation systems (lasers, photodetectors, analog front ends, precision timing)

Responsibilities

• Design and develop custom electronics (analog, digital, mixed-signal) for precision instrumentation and sensor systems
• Own schematic capture and PCB design (placement/routing), including BOM creation, DFM/DFT considerations, and design reviews
• Perform component selection and trade studies (cost, risk, availability, lifecycle, reliability), including derating and failure mode thinking
• Lead board bring-up: initial power checks, clocking, comms interfaces, fault isolation, and root-cause debugging
• Use lab instrumentation (oscilloscope, DMM, logic analyzer, spectrum analyzer) to characterize signals, noise, timing, and power integrity
• Develop test strategies and write test procedures to verify functionality, performance, reliability, and robustness
• Partner with systems, optics/laser, firmware/software, and manufacturing to troubleshoot instrument-level issues and drive corrective actions
• Support transition to production: ECOs, documentation, test fixtures support, and resolving field/manufacturing issues

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) plans
• Life, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Paid Time Off and Paid Holidays
• Employee Referral Program
• 401K
• Social events (summer picnic, holiday party, team lunches, etc.)
• On-site Health & Wellness programs (fitness challenges, outdoor bootcamp, flu-shots, etc.)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level