Electrical Engineer

Excelon Solutions; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 131,000 - 207,000; Full time

Job summary

Excelon Solutions is seeking a Senior Electrical Engineer contractor in Sunnyvale, CA to lead system-level electrical architecture and PCB design across multi-board robotic platforms. The role involves reviewing partner schematics, performing power and signal integrity analysis, and coordinating with external layout houses.

You will bring-up boards and collaborate closely with firmware teams. The position requires deep hands-on experience with Altium, high-speed interfaces, and power

Qualifications

• 8+ years of PCBA-level circuit design for robotics or related fields.
• Experience reviewing external designs and providing feedback.
• Proficiency with Altium Designer for schematic capture and layout.
• Experience with multi-board embedded systems and subsystem architecture.
• Hands-on board bring-up and debugging with standard EE test equipment.
• Strong knowledge of Ethernet, USB, MIPI CSI-2, CAN-FD interfaces.
• Ability to work independently on multiple concurrent designs.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to system-level electrical architecture for multi-board robotic platforms.
• Review partner schematics, validate component choices, and flag misalignment.
• Design PCBAs including schematic capture, layout, and component selection.
• Perform MCU/SoC trade studies and peripheral analysis.
• Design and review PCB layouts with high-speed interfaces and impedance control.
• Develop power distribution with DC-DC converters and PMIC integration.
• Collaborate with PCB vendors and coordinate fabrication.
• Bring-up boards, verify functionality, and debug root causes.
• Partner with firmware for hardware-software co-development.
• Manage design docs and test reports.

Skills

Electrical design

PCB bring-up

System architecture

Hardware debugging

Vendor coordination

Power electronics

Signal integrity

EtherCAT

Tools

Altium Designer

HSpice

ADS

SIwave

IBIS

Job description

Job Title

Senior Electrical Engineer

Hiring Mode

Contract

Location

Sunnyvale, CA [ONSITE]

Rate

• Bill rate should be aligned with current market standards.

Job Description

We are seeking a Senior Electrical Engineer contractor to support robotics hardware development within Industrial Robotics Group. You will contribute to system-level electrical architecture across multi-board robotic platforms, execute board designs from schematic through bring-up, and provide technical review of external design partners’ schematic and layout work as directed by FTE engineers. You will perform design trade-off analysis - MCU/SoC selection, interface topology, power architecture, and sensor integration - across multiple concurrent projects, working with minimal supervision alongside a small, fast-moving hardware team led by full-time engineers.

Key Responsibilities-

• Contribute to system-level electrical architecture (block diagrams, interface definitions, voltage domains) for multi-board robotic platforms spanning compute, motor control, sensing, and communication subsystems
• Review schematics produced by external design partners (ODMs, contract engineering firms), validating component selection and design trade-offs, and flagging misalignment with the system architecture
• Execute electrical design for PCBAs supporting robotic actuator and manipulation systems - including schematic capture, layout, component selection, subsystem architecture, and design for signal integrity, manufacturability, and testability. Design in Altium.
• Perform MCU/SoC architecture trade studies and component selection analysis (e.g., evaluating ARM Cortex-R/M MCUs, EtherCAT port constraints, package options, peripheral availability) across motor control and sensor interface boards
• Design and review PCB layouts for multi-layer boards with high-speed digital interfaces (Ethernet, GMSL, USB, MIPI CSI-2, CAN-FD), ensuring impedance control, power integrity, and EMC compliance. Perform layout for simple-to-medium boards or simple-to-medium changes on complex boards (in Altium), and coordinate with external layout houses on PCB layout execution for complex PCBs.
• Design power distribution systems including DC-DC converters, LDOs, power sequencing, load switches, and protection circuits for multi-voltage robotic subsystems; debug PMIC behavior and perform root-cause analysis on power delivery issues
• Collaborate with PCB fabrication vendors - stackup selection, DFM review, material trade-offs, Gerber release coordination, and alternate vendor sourcing across multiple concurrent builds
• Perform board bring-up, functional verification, root cause analysis, and debug using standard lab equipment (oscilloscope, logic analyzer, multimeter, soldering/rework tools)
• Partner with firmware engineers on hardware-software co-development, peripheral interface definition, and BSP bring-up
• Manage design documentation including block diagrams, schematics, BOMs, design rationale, constraint files, and test reports
• Support multiple boards simultaneously at different NPI stages (schematic, layout, fab, bring-up)

Required Qualifications-

• 8+ years of experience in PCBA-level circuit design for robotics, industrial, automotive, or consumer electronics
• Experience reviewing designs produced by external engineering teams or ODMs and providing technical feedback on component selection and design trade-offs
• Proficiency with Altium Designer - schematic capture and PCB layout
• Experience with subsystem architecture and high-level electrical design for multi-board embedded systems
• Hands-on board bring-up and debug experience with standard EE test equipment
• Strong experience with communication interfaces: Ethernet (100Base-T1, 1000BASE-T), USB, MIPI CSI, SPI, I2C, CAN-FD
• Experience with EtherCAT hardware architecture - daisy-chain topology, PHY selection
• Experience with power architecture design - switching regulators, LDOs, power sequencing, high-current distribution, PMIC integration
• Experience with motor driver circuits, gate drivers, or power stage design for BLDC actuators
• Experience managing PCB fabrication vendors - stackup review, DFM, material availability, and multi-vendor coordination
• Experience with signal integrity fundamentals - constraint development, impedance control, timing budget analysis
• Ability to work independently on multiple concurrent board designs at different stages with minimal supervision

Preferred Qualifications-

• Experience with signal integrity and power integrity analysis tools (HSpice, ADS, SIwave) and package-level delay analysis using IBIS/S-parameter models
• Experience with IMU/inertial sensor integration and low-noise analog front-end design
• Experience with tactile sensor interfaces
• Experience with semiconductor vendor technical engagement for component evaluation and design support
• Experience working with contract manufacturers on DFM review and production test development
• Familiarity with functional safety hardware mechanisms (watchdogs, voltage monitors, safe-state circuits, redundancy)