Systems Hardware Engineer, Principal

d-Matrix • Santa Clara, CA

1d • Hybrid

About The Position

At d-matrix, we are redefining the architecture of AI compute. As a Principal Hardware Design Engineer, you will be a cornerstone of our hardware organization, leading the development of world-class platforms for our silicon-integrated AI accelerators. You aren’t just "designing boards"; you are architecting the physical foundation that allows our Chiplet-based NPU (Neural Processing Unit) to solve the industry's most massive LLM inference challenges.

Requirements

• Education: BS/MS in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• Experience: 10+ years of experience in high-complexity hardware design, specifically within the semiconductor, server, or networking industries.
• Board Design: Mastery of Cadence Allegro/Orcad or similar high-end EDA tools.
• Power & Signal Integrity: Deep understanding of SI/PI fundamentals, including jitter, crosstalk, and impedance control for 32Gbps+ signals.
• Laboratory Skills: Proficiency with high-speed oscilloscopes, BERTs, and VNA/TDR for hardware bring-up and validation.
• Communication: Ability to distill complex technical trade-offs into actionable decisions for executive leadership.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with OCP (Open Compute Project) standards or large-scale data center deployments.
• Knowledge of liquid cooling integration for high-TDP hardware.
• Nice to have: Familiarity with FPGA prototyping and emulation platforms.

Responsibilities

• Architectural Leadership: Lead the end-to-end hardware development lifecycle for complex, high-performance AI accelerator PCIe cards and chassis platforms.
• Detailed Electrical Design: Own schematic capture, component selection, and rigorous BOM management for multi-rail, high-power designs.
• High-Speed Design: Architect and oversee the layout of ultra-high-speed interfaces, including PCIe Gen5/6, CXL, and custom chiplet-to-chiplet interconnects.
• Power Delivery (PDN): Design robust power delivery networks capable of handling high-current transients and low-voltage rails characteristic of advanced AI silicon.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with Silicon, Signal Integrity (SI/PI), Thermal, and Mechanical teams to ensure seamless integration and performance.
• DFx & Manufacturing: Drive Design for Excellence (DFM, DFT, DFA) to ensure high-yield production and long-term reliability in data center environments.
• Mentorship: Act as a technical lead, guiding junior engineers and setting the standard for hardware design best practices across the company.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees