Electrical Engineer (UMI)

Physical Intelligence • San Francisco, CA

1d

About The Position

Physical Intelligence is bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world. We are a team of engineers, scientists, roboticists, and company builders developing foundation models and learning algorithms to power the robots of today and the physically-actuated devices of the future. This role is part of the hardware team, but will involve deep collaboration with the embedded firmware team and the robot software engineering (runtime) team.

Requirements

• 3–7 years of experience in hardware design and board-level development for high-volume products
• BS/MS in Electrical Engineering or a related technical field.
• Proficiency in EDA tools (e.g., Altium, Allegro) for complex, multi-layer, high-density interconnect designs, and experience with rigid flex circuits
• Hands-on experience with CMOS image sensors, MIPI CSI-2/3 interfaces, and the electrical requirements for high-bandwidth imaging data, including bring-up and image tuning
• Deep understanding of signal integrity, power integrity, and EMI/EMC mitigation for high-speed digital and RF circuits.
• Experience with lab equipment (oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, logic analyzers) to lead initial board bring-up, debugging, and hardware validation.
• Experience designing efficient power delivery networks (PDN), including DC-DC converters, LDOs, and battery management systems (BMS) for mobile devices.
• Familiarity with CAN, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, UART, USB (2.0/3.0/Type-C), and PCIe, as well as wireless protocols including BLE and Wi-Fi (2.4GHz/5GHz), and the ability to evaluate and debug these systems.
• Ability to translate ambiguous product goals into hard functional requirements for firmware, mechanical, and research teams.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with RF/Antenna integration and FCC/CE certification processes
• History of working with JDMs and ODMs
• Knowledge of flex-circuit (FPC) design and rigid-flex integration
• Experience with robotic actuators or motor control circuitry
• Understanding of thermal design optimization and testing

Responsibilities

• Drive Hardware Architecture: Lead the electrical design of devices crucial to PI’s data collection, from component selection (SoCs, Sensors, PMICs) to final PCBA.
• Imaging System Design: Lead the hardware integration of high-resolution image sensors, ensuring clean power rails and high-speed data paths (MIPI) for optimal image quality.
• Wireless Hardware Integration: Design and optimize RF front-ends for wireless modules, focusing on antenna placement, signal range, and power consumption.
• Schematic & Layout: Take full ownership of schematics and supervise/execute PCB layouts for complex, space-constrained enclosures.
• Hardware Validation: Design and execute test plans to identify hardware bugs, signal integrity issues, and thermal bottlenecks.
• DFM/DFT: Work with manufacturing partners to ensure designs are optimized for high-yield assembly (Design for Manufacturing) and comprehensive on-line testing (Design for Test).
• Power Optimization: Analyze and optimize the hardware-level power consumption for battery-operated devices, and assist with thermal testing and validation of the devices.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree