Electronics Hardware Engineer

Pinnacle Partners, Inc; Sterling (VA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Performance bonus

Job summary

Pinnacle Partners is seeking an Electronics Hardware Engineer in Sterling, VA, onsite, to own the hardware development lifecycle from schematic design through PCB layout, prototype bring-up, validation, and manufacturing transition.

The ideal candidate has 3+ years hands-on hardware design experience, strong multilayer PCB skills (6–8 layers), and expertise in analog, digital, and mixed-signal circuits, high-speed routing, and SI/PI/EMI considerations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• Approximately 3+ years of hands-on electronics hardware design experience.
• Experience designing circuits and schematics; multilayer PCB design.

Responsibilities

• Design analog, digital, power supply, and mixed-signal circuits.
• Develop schematics and multilayer PCB layouts.
• Prepare BOMs and manufacturing documentation.
• Review designs for SI/PI/EMI/ manufacturability.
• Prototype bring-up, debugging, validation, and calibration.
• Collaborate with firmware, mechanical, and manufacturing teams.

Skills

PCB design

Analog/digital/mixed-signal

High-speed routing

Schematic capture

Prototype bring-up

Board bring-up testing

Oscilloscope use

Power integrity

Signal integrity

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Cadence

Allegro

OrCAD

Mentor

KiCad

Altium Designer

Job description

Sterling, VA Onsite Up to $160000 per Year Direct Hire

Pinnacle Partners is recruiting for an Electronics Hardware Engineer in Sterling, VA. This is a hands-on electronics hardware engineering position supporting the full hardware development lifecycle, from initial circuit and schematic design through PCB layout, prototype bring-up, validation, troubleshooting, and manufacturing transition. The ideal candidate will have experience personally designing electronic circuits and multilayer PCBs, working with analog, digital, and mixed-signal systems, and performing hands-on board bring-up and debugging in a laboratory environment.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design analog, digital, power supply, communication, and mixed-signal circuits.
• Develop schematics and multilayer PCB layouts.
• Work with approximately 4–8+ layer boards, with current designs primarily utilizing 6- and 8-layer PCBs.
• Define PCB stackups, grounding strategies, routing rules, and controlled impedance requirements.
• Perform high-speed routing including differential pairs, impedance control, termination, and length matching.
• Design MCU and processor-based hardware.
• Integrate ADCs, DACs, external memory, communications, and isolation circuitry.
• Create schematic symbols, PCB footprints, and component libraries.
• Select components and analyze datasheets.
• Prepare BOMs and manufacturing documentation.
• Review designs for signal integrity, power integrity, EMI/EMC, and manufacturability.
• Support PCB fabrication and assembly.
• Personally perform prototype board bring-up, debugging, troubleshooting, validation, and calibration.
• Perform soldering and rework when troubleshooting prototype hardware.
• Develop test procedures and document validation results.
• Work closely with firmware, mechanical, and manufacturing teams.
• Support prototype development through transition into production.
• Take ownership of hardware development activities in a small, fast-paced engineering environment.
• Identify technical issues and independently drive solutions from design through validation.
• Support the development of increasingly complex electronics involving mixed-signal systems, high-speed communications, processors, and power-related applications.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• Approximately 3+ years of hands-on electronics hardware design experience.
• Experience personally designing electronic circuits and schematics.
• Strong multilayer PCB design and layout experience.
• Experience with approximately 6+ layer boards preferred.
• Analog and digital circuit design experience.
• Knowledge of high-speed PCB routing, including controlled impedance and length matching.
• MCU or processor-based board design experience.
• ADC/DAC or comparable mixed-signal interface experience.
• Hands-on board bring-up, debugging, troubleshooting, and validation experience.
• Hands-on laboratory experience using oscilloscopes and other electronic test equipment.
• Understanding of PCB fabrication, assembly, and design for manufacturability.
• Ability to work independently and take ownership in a small, fast-moving engineering team.
• Strong technical problem-solving and troubleshooting abilities.
• Ability to work effectively with firmware, mechanical, manufacturing, and other engineering teams.
• Ability to work 100% onsite in Sterling, VA.

Preferred:

• Experience with Cadence, Allegro, OrCAD, Mentor, KiCad, or similar professional PCB design platforms.
• STM32 experience.
• DSP and/or FPGA-based hardware experience.
• High-speed communications experience with Ethernet/Gigabit Ethernet, USB, SPI, CAN, RS-485, or similar interfaces.
• Experience with SDRAM, DDR, Flash, or other external memory devices.
• EMI/EMC compliance and testing experience.
• UL or other regulatory testing experience.
• System calibration or precision measurement experience.
• Power or energy systems experience.
• Stronger system-level hardware design and architecture experience for Senior-level candidates.
• Ability to understand how analog, digital, processing, communications, memory, isolation, and power circuitry interact at the system level.
• Broader processor knowledge, ideally including MCU, DSP, and FPGA-based systems.

Benefits Overview:

• $110K–$160K base salary depending on experience and level.
• Performance bonus.
• Paid time off.
• 401(k) with company match.
• Health insurance.
• Vision insurance.
• Hands-on exposure to advanced electronics and power infrastructure applications.
• Opportunity to work across the full hardware development lifecycle from architecture and schematic design through PCB layout, prototype bring-up, validation, and manufacturing.
• Opportunity for Mid-Level engineers to expand their experience into system architecture, FPGA/DSP hardware, high-speed interfaces, and higher-voltage applications.
• Opportunity for Senior engineers to provide technical direction while remaining directly involved in design, laboratory work, bring-up, and troubleshooting.
• Training available on Altium Designer for engineers with experience using other professional PCB design platforms.
• Product and system training provided.
• Opportunity to work closely with hardware, firmware, mechanical, and manufacturing engineering teams.

Explore More Engineering Opportunities

This role falls within our Engineering/Manufacturing division, where we specialize in placing professionals in areas such as:

• Mechanical/Electrical Engineering
• Manufacturing/Process Engineering
• Technical Sales
• Operations / Plant Engineering

Explore additional Engineering roles and learn more about how we support Engineering professionals:

We're hiring across multiple divisions including:

• Human Resources
• Administrative & Customer Service
• Information Technology
• Accounting & Finance

About Pinnacle Partners

For more than two decades, Pinnacle Partners has been connecting top talent with leadingemployers across Indianapolis, Louisville, Cincinnati, and other cities throughout theMidwest. Wespecialize in Information Technology, Accounting & Finance, Administrative, HumanResources, and Engineering/Manufacturing, offering contract, contract-to-hire, and directhire placements.