PCB Design Engineer

Lab37•Pittsburgh, PA

About The Position

Lab37 Robotics is seeking a PCBA Design Engineer to lead the design, layout, and release of high-reliability PCBAs used in our next-generation robotic food-production systems. This role requires strong hands-on expertise in Altium Designer, multi-layer PCB layout, and high-speed design practices, along with the ability to collaborate closely with mechanical, firmware, controls, and manufacturing teams to take designs from concept through production. You will own multiple boards across motor control, sensors, communications, and power distribution, from early concept through pilot builds and production.

Requirements

5+ years of industry experience designing PCBAs for production hardware products.
Proficiency with Altium Designer (schematic, PCB layout, and release workflow).
Demonstrated experience with multi-layer boards and high-speed design practices (controlled impedance, differential pairs, length matching, via strategy, etc.).
Strong understanding of mixed-signal layout, grounding/return paths, decoupling, and EMI/EMC fundamentals.
Practical experience supporting board bring-up, debugging, and working cross-functionally to resolve electrical and system-level issues.
Familiarity with manufacturing constraints and processes (DFM/DFA/DFT), and working with CM/fab/assembly vendors.
Experience designing hardware subject to regulatory requirements (FCC, CE, IEC/UL, or similar standards).
Comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift and iteration speed matters.

Nice To Haves

Experience with some or all of the following: microcontrollers, motor control hardware, CAN, Ethernet, and NFC/RFID.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end PCB/PCBA design in Altium: circuit design, schematic capture, component selection, stackup definition, design rules, layout, and manufacturing documentation and release packages.
Design multi-layer boards (4+ layers) including controlled impedance routing, high-speed interfaces, and mixed-signal layouts.
Apply best practices for SI/PI/EMI: return path continuity, decoupling strategy, power integrity, shielding, grounding, and noise reduction.
Incorporate regulatory compliance requirements into PCBA designs, including EMC/EMI, ESD, and electrical safety requirements applicable to commercial robotic systems.
Contribute to libraries (symbols, footprints, 3D models) while maintaining CAD standards to ensure consistent, scalable design practices.
Partner with firmware and controls teams to support board bring-up, debugging, validation testing, and design iteration based on real-world performance.
Collaborate with manufacturing partners on DFM/DFA/DFT, stackup drawings, panelization considerations, test strategy, and resolution of production issues.
Interface with external test labs during pre-compliance and formal regulatory testing (FCC, UL, etc.), and implement mitigations to address any observed failures.
Participate in design reviews and contribute to system-level architecture decisions for sensors, motor control, communications, compute, and power subsystems.