Senior Hardware Design Engineer

About the role

Fairchild Imaging, headquartered in San Jose, California is a specialty image sensor design and manufacturing company with deep experience in developing leading edge performance CMOS image sensors. Our portfolio of image sensors can be found in many high-performance imaging applications like space exploration, medical x-ray, sciences, quantum computing, machine vision, low light, and 360 situational awareness.

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced Senior Hardware Design Engineer to lead the design and development of advanced PCB-based electronic systems featuring high-speed digital interfaces, complex multilayer boards, and demanding signal and power integrity requirements.

The role requires deep expertise in high-speed digital hardware design, PCB architecture, signal integrity, power delivery, and system-level optimization. Experience with USB-C interoperability and robust high-bandwidth data interfaces is particularly valuable.

In addition to hands-on engineering, this role may include responsibility for mentoring engineers, driving technical direction across projects, and contributing to team growth and engineering excellence.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership and Team Development

• Provide technical leadership across hardware development programs.
• Mentor junior and mid-level hardware engineers in schematic design, PCB layout, debugging, and engineering best practices.
• Lead hardware design reviews, architecture discussions, and cross-functional technical decision-making.
• Establish and promote engineering standards for high-speed PCB design, signal integrity, documentation, and validation.
• Support project planning, task prioritization, resource estimation, and execution tracking.
• May directly manage a small team of hardware engineers, including goal setting, performance feedback, career development, coaching, hiring, and onboarding.

High-Speed Hardware Architecture and Design

• Architect, design, and validate complex multilayer PCBs for high-performance electronic systems.
• Define board-level architectures, component selection, schematics, layout constraints, and interconnect strategies.
• Design and validate high-speed interfaces, including:
• USB-C and USB high-speed data interfaces
• LVDS and other high-speed serial interfaces
• High-speed differential links and memory interfaces
• Collaborate with firmware, software, systems, and other engineering teams to ensure robust system integration.
• Optimize board architecture, power delivery, grounding, clocking, and layout to meet performance, reliability, and noise requirements.
• Evaluate and mitigate hardware design impacts on system performance, including timing errors, electrical noise, EMI/EMC coupling, and power integrity artifacts.

USB-C Interoperability and System Integration

• Design and debug robust USB-C implementations, including:
• Connector orientation and configuration support
• Enumeration and connection reliability
• Sustained high-bandwidth data streaming
• Cable, host, and hub interoperability
• Power sequencing and interface robustness
• Diagnose intermittent hardware and interface failures through systematic testing, measurement, and root-cause analysis.
• Analyze and resolve signal integrity and power integrity challenges across USB-C and other high-speed interfaces.
• Work with firmware and software teams to distinguish hardware, firmware, and system-level failure modes.

Signal Integrity and Hardware Excellence

• Serve as a technical authority in high-speed and high-density PCB design.
• Apply and guide best practices for:
• Signal integrity analysis and validation
• Impedance control and stackup design
• Differential-pair routing and skew management
• Return-path continuity and via transitions
• Crosstalk and insertion-loss mitigation
• Power integrity and low-noise supply design
• Drive schematic reviews, layout reviews, design-for-test considerations, and hardware validation plans.
• Lead prototype bring-up, lab debugging, failure analysis, and design iteration.
• Document design decisions, test results, and corrective actions to support reliable product development and production readiness.

Required Qualifications

• BS/MS in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• 8+ years of hardware design experience, including complex multilayer PCB design.
• Proven expertise designing high-speed digital systems and high-density PCBs.
• Demonstrated technical leadership, mentoring, or team lead experience.
• Strong working knowledge of signal integrity, power integrity, EMI/EMC, and high-speed layout constraints.
• Practical experience with high-speed interfaces such as USB-C, USB, LVDS, or other high-speed serial and differential interfaces.
• Experience with schematic capture and PCB layout tools such as Altium Designer, Cadence Allegro, or equivalent.
• Hands-on lab debugging skills using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and related instrumentation.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot complex hardware issues, identify root causes, and drive corrective actions.
• Strong technical communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Benefits

Fairchild Imaging provides our employees with a range in benefits offerings that includes:

• 9/80 Schedule - You get every other Friday off!
• Medical, Dental and Vision coverage with multiple plan offerings
• Health Savings Account with an employer contribution annually
• 401(k) retirement plans with Employer matching
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Generous Paid Time Off policy

The compensation salary range for this role is $180,000 to $200,000. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, education, certifications, and knowledge.