Sr. Applications Engineer

Kinetic Technologies•San Jose, CA

2d•$170,000 - $200,000

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Senior Applications Engineer with deep, hands-on expertise in DC/DC buck converters and power management ICs. This role requires strong system-level design, validation, and device debug skills. The Senior Applications Engineer will act as a technical leader, supporting complex customer designs, driving root-cause analysis, and collaborating closely with R&D, validation, and marketing teams to ensure robust product adoption and successful customer deployments.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, ECE, or a related field.
At least 6 years of experience in power electronics or semiconductor applications engineering.
Strong hands-on experience with DC/DC buck converter design and analysis.
Expertise in schematic capture and PCB design using industry-standard tools such as Altium, Cadence, OrCAD, or equivalent.
Extensive lab experience with power measurement, debugging, and validation using oscilloscopes, electronic loads, network analyzers, and power analyzers.
Demonstrated ability to debug complex hardware issues at the device and system level.
Strong technical writing skills and experience producing customer-facing technical documentation.
In-depth understanding of customer product development cycles and manufacturing requirements.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
Experience with silicon validation and post-silicon debug of power management ICs.
Strong background in control loop stability, compensation design, and small-signal analysis.
Experience with EMI/EMC mitigation and compliance strategies.
Prior customer-facing or Field Applications Engineering (FAE) experience.
Experience mentoring or leading technical teams.

Responsibilities

Serve as a technical expert for DC/DC buck converter products, supporting customers from initial architecture through production release.
Lead hands-on lab activities including schematic development, PCB bring-up, validation, and device debug of power management ICs.
Design, build, and debug evaluation modules (EVMs) and customer reference designs.
Perform system-level validation of efficiency, transient response, stability, thermal performance, protection features, and reliability.
Drive root-cause analysis of device, system, and layout-related issues using bench measurements and failure analysis techniques.
Review and approve customer schematics and PCB layouts, providing guidance on power integrity, grounding, EMI/EMC, and thermal performance.
Partner with IC design, validation, and test teams to debug silicon issues and influence product improvements.
Support customer development schedules with timely, technically sound recommendations and solutions.
Develop and own technical collateral, including EVM user guides, application and design notes, white papers, and reference designs.
Mentor junior applications engineers and contribute to best practices for lab methodology and documentation.
Represent the applications team in technical reviews, customer meetings, and internal design discussions.