Senior Engineer - Electrical

Vector Atomic • Pleasanton, CA

12d

About The Position

Vector Atomic, an IonQ company, is hiring a Senior Engineer - Electrical to develop electronic solutions for quantum instruments and oversee circuit design from concept through implementation and production. The role works in a fast-paced, hands-on environment and collaborates with physicists and engineers across electrical, mechanical, and optical disciplines to translate system and schematic requirements into electronic designs.

The position owns the full PCBA design lifecycle for complex high-speed digital, precision analog, mixed-signal, power, and RF boards. It establishes and maintains PCB layout standards, selects and places components, manages routing and controlled-impedance structures, and considers signal and power integrity, thermal performance, manufacturability, testability, and serviceability. The engineer also develops Point-of-Load power circuits, supports manufacturing and fabrication processes, troubleshoots DFM/DFA issues, and maintains design records and engineering change orders in a cloud-based PLM system.

The role requires a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or a related field and six years of professional experience, a master's degree and three years of experience, or equivalent experience. It also requires at least three years of electrical design experience developing complex mixed-signal PCBA designs using advanced ECAD tools. Candidates must be comfortable working in a laboratory. Due to U.S. export control laws, employees must meet the stated U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, or qualifying refugee/asylee eligibility requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field and at least six years of professional experience; alternatively, a master's degree and at least three years of professional experience; or equivalent experience.
• At least three years of professional electrical-design experience developing complex mixed-signal PCBA designs using advanced ECAD tools.
• Ability to work comfortably in a laboratory setting.
• Eligibility under U.S. export control laws: U.S. citizenship (born or naturalized), lawful U.S. permanent residency, or qualifying refugee or asylee status.
• Expertise in high-density PCB layouts, including HDI, fine-pitch BGAs, high-speed differential pairs, and mixed-signal designs.
• Ability to define and implement controlled-impedance structures, including microstrip, stripline, and differential pairs, and apply signal-integrity, power-distribution, grounding, and EMI/EMC-aware layout strategies.
• Proficiency designing PCBAs featuring modern FPGAs, MCUs, mixed-signal circuits, and precision analog circuits; Altium Designer is preferred.
• Experience designing Point-of-Load power circuits with stringent ripple and EMI specifications.
• Experience using a PLM system to manage PCBA designs, including creating Engineering Change Orders.
• Hands-on hardware-debugging experience and familiarity with laboratory equipment such as oscilloscopes, digital voltmeters, and spectrum analyzers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.
• Understanding of DFM/DFA constraints and hands-on experience working directly with PCB fabricators and assemblers.

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on PCB design experience using Altium Designer, including schematic capture, layout, library management, and fabrication-file generation.
• Familiarity with creating design rules and implementing constraint-driven layouts in Altium.
• Experience integrating PCB designs with PLM/ERP systems and managing component libraries and lifecycle statuses.
• Background defining, simulating, and verifying ASIC designs.
• Experience in low-power design.
• Experience creating designs compliant with RoHS/CE, EMI/EMC, and UL requirements.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with physicists and engineers across electrical, mechanical, and optical disciplines to translate system and schematic requirements into electronic designs for quantum instruments.
• Own the complete PCB process for complex high-speed digital, precision analog, mixed-signal, power, and RF boards.
• Establish, maintain, and advocate PCB layout standards and design rules, including stack-ups, trace and space specifications, impedance profiles, creepage and clearance measures, and via strategies.
• Drive component selection, placement, and routing while optimizing signal integrity, power integrity, thermal efficiency, manufacturability, and serviceability.
• Collaborate with electrical engineers on controlled-impedance routing, including microstrip, stripline, and differential pairs, and manage timing-critical nets.
• Emphasize manufacturability and testability throughout the design process.
• Lead PCBA design from initial concept through production.
• Support manufacturing initiatives by addressing support issues, defining tests, and ensuring PCB designs adhere to DFM guidelines.
• Follow and improve design directives and procedures.
• Work with PCB fabricators and assemblers and apply DFM/DFA constraints.
• Design and develop Point-of-Load power supply circuits for board-level power distribution, efficiency, and power-sequencing requirements.
• Troubleshoot DFM/DFA challenges with internal teams, improve yield, and enhance fabrication processes.
• Maintain accurate, current design data and documentation in the cloud-based PLM system, including revisions and engineering change orders.
• Perform hardware debugging and use laboratory test equipment.

Benefits

• Platinum-level family health coverage, including medical, dental, and vision.
• Health and dependent-care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).
• Employer 401(k) contributions.
• 20 days of paid time off and 11 paid holidays.
• Paid parental leave.
• Stock ownership plan.
• Fully stocked kitchen.
• Competitive compensation package including base salary, bonus, equity, and benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior