PCB Layout Designer/ Librarian

Heron Power•Scotts Valley, CA

1d•$120,000 - $1,700,000

About The Position

Heron Power is a startup company building cutting-edge power electronics for the 21st-century grid. We aim to debottleneck the growth of electricity generation and consumption with scalable, innovative, and less costly hardware solutions, accelerating the electrification of everything. Our first goal is to build better converters (inverters & rectifiers) to connect large-scale renewables, storage, and loads to the grid. Heron Power’s leadership team is made up of seasoned veterans who have designed and shipped gigawatts of power conversion products over the past decade. We understand that no one individual knows everything. We will all learn a lot together and from each other. We strive to build a collaborative, enriching environment conducive to personal, technical, and career growth. You can expect to work in a dynamic and collaborative environment, driven by first principles engineering, solving difficult problems. Job Overview We are seeking a highly motivated PCB Layout Designer/Librarian to join our hardware engineering team. In this role, you will own the PCB layout process end-to-end, develop and maintain schematic symbol and footprint libraries, and collaborate closely with electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing teams to deliver high-quality board designs across a diverse range of products. You’ll be part of a small, focused team responsible for developing robust and efficient power conversion systems—from concept through production. This position is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment, takes ownership of their work, and is passionate about advancing next-generation energy technologies.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in PCB layout and/or library development for complex, multi-layer, high-volume product designs.
Extensive experience using Altium Designer, including constraint setup, net classes, high-voltage design rules, variants, and design rooms; proficient with Altium CoDesigner, Altium Server, and 3D visualization tools.
Strong understanding of high-speed design principles, signal integrity, power integrity, and thermal management.
Experience with high-power supply designs, including wide copper pours, thermal relief, and high-voltage/high-current routing.
Familiarity with IPC standards, including IPC-7351 and IPC-2221.
Knowledge of Design for Manufacturability (DFM), Design for Assembly (DFA), and Design for Test (DFT) practices.

Nice To Haves

Ensure compliance with safety and regulatory standards for creepage and clearance in high-voltage PCB designs (> 1500V).
Proficient in scripting languages (e.g., Python, SKILL) to automate library management and layout tasks.
Experience in magnetic PCB winding design.
Familiar with version control systems (e.g., Git) and integration with PLM platforms (e.g., ENOVIA, Arena).
Exposure to CATIA 3DEXPERIENCE platform and ENOVIA PLM workflows.

Responsibilities

Possess deep expertise in PCB layout methodologies for power electronics, mixed-signal systems, high-speed digital, RF, and energy applications.
Collaborate cross-functionally with electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing test engineers to implement layout strategies that meet signal integrity, power delivery, thermal, and mechanical requirements.
Execute complex, high-density PCB layouts using industry-standard tools (e.g., Altium Designer), including multi-layer, high-current, and mixed-signal designs.
Perform constraint-driven routing for high-speed, RF, and high-voltage/high-current power paths—incorporating controlled impedance, wide copper pours, isolation strategies, and optimized polygon fills.
Adapt quickly to evolving product features and design requirements throughout the development cycle.
Design for manufacturability and reliability, including thermal reliefs, heatsinking, copper balancing, and via stitching in power PCB designs.
Layout PCBs using advanced package types such as BGAs and fine-pitch components, with HDI technologies including VIPPO, microvias, and blind/buried vias, while applying effective breakout and fanout strategies.
Generate complete manufacturing documentation, including Gerbers, ODB++, IPC-2581, fabrication and assembly drawings, and detailed layer stack-up information.
Create and maintain accurate schematic symbols and PCB footprints in compliance with IPC standards (e.g., IPC-7351).
Manage and version-control the centralized component library to ensure scalability, consistency, and reuse across multiple projects.
Collaborate with electrical engineers and the supply chain team to support correct part selection, implement multisourcing strategies, and enable proactive component lifecycle management.
Integrate and synchronize component data with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems (e.g., ENOVIA, Agile) to maintain alignment between design and procurement throughout the product development cycle.