Principal Electrical Engineer

Nova•Fremont, CA

About The Position

Nova is seeking an experienced electrical engineering technical leader and individual contributor to lead electrical system design, development, integration, and troubleshooting for advanced semiconductor capital equipment and precision instrumentation. The role covers system-level electrical architecture and hands-on engineering execution, from translating requirements into architectures through detailed design, integration, verification, and production release. The engineer will work with systems engineers, scientists, firmware and software engineers, mechanical engineers, manufacturing, suppliers, and other cross-functional teams to develop reliable, production-ready systems. Experience with semiconductor equipment, metrology systems, analytical instrumentation, or other high-performance capital equipment is relevant; mass spectrometers and mass spectrometry-based instrumentation are highly desirable. The position leads electrical architecture and design, defines subsystem boundaries and interfaces, and establishes power distribution, grounding, protection, control, safety, shielding, and electromagnetic compatibility strategies. It also guides hardware development, verification and validation, system integration, troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and production support. As a senior technical authority, the engineer provides technical direction, mentors engineers, and helps cross-functional teams make sound design decisions. Nova is a global provider of metrology solutions for semiconductor manufacturing, with approximately 1,200 employees, three R&D centers, and 27 field offices. The role is part of the Material Metrology Division. The stated pay range is $190,000–$220,000 annually, depending on experience.

Requirements

Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
10+ years of industry experience in electrical hardware design and development.
Hands-on experience developing semiconductor capital equipment, metrology systems, analytical instruments, or precision instrumentation.
Experience designing and integrating electronics for demanding environments requiring high precision, low noise, high voltage, fast control, and high system reliability.
Ability to collaborate with scientists and systems engineers to understand instrument physics, measurement requirements, and system performance constraints.
Experience developing hardware through schematic capture, component selection, PCB layout, prototype build, bring-up, verification, and production release.
Experience designing and reviewing analog, mixed-signal, digital, high-voltage, and embedded electronics.
Experience with complex electrical system integration, troubleshooting, and root-cause analysis.

Nice To Haves

Experience with mass spectrometers, ion optics, vacuum instrumentation, mass analyzers, detectors, or related analytical instrumentation.

Responsibilities

Lead electrical system architecture and design for complex semiconductor capital equipment and precision instrumentation.
Translate system-level requirements into electrical architectures, subsystem specifications, interfaces, power distribution, grounding, protection, and control strategies.
Define electrical subsystem boundaries, interfaces, design tradeoffs, and technical requirements.
Develop system-level power, signal, grounding, shielding, safety, and electromagnetic compatibility strategies.
Design and integrate high-voltage power supplies, analog/mixed-signal electronics, low-noise circuits, digital electronics, embedded controllers, sensors, actuators, and communication interfaces.
Establish and drive electrical system design standards, architectures, and best practices for reliability, manufacturability, serviceability, scalability, and system performance.
Provide technical direction, mentor engineers, and guide cross-functional teams in electrical system and design decisions.
Drive hardware development from requirements and architecture through schematic capture, component selection, PCB layout, prototype build, bring-up, verification, and production release.
Lead or technically review schematic designs, PCB layouts, component selections, and hardware design documentation.
Perform circuit simulation, design analysis, signal integrity and power integrity analysis, and electrical design trade studies as appropriate.
Define and lead electrical system verification and validation strategies based on system requirements and product specifications.
Develop verification plans, test specifications, test cases, test procedures, and acceptance criteria.
Design test fixtures and develop automated and manual test methodologies.
Analyze test data and document results, failures, root causes, and corrective actions.
Lead complex electrical system integration and troubleshooting of prototype and production equipment.
Develop structured approaches to diagnose failures across electrical and electromechanical subsystems, analyze system performance and test data, and drive corrective actions.
Support prototype bring-up, factory acceptance, field troubleshooting, and sustaining engineering activities.
Participate in and lead architecture reviews, design reviews, FMEA activities, technical investigations, and design trade studies.
Identify technical risks early and develop mitigation strategies.