Founding PCB Designer: High‑Speed RF & Space Hardware

Northwood Space; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 79,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwood Space is hiring a PCB Designer to establish the discipline from the ground up and lead the layout of next-generation digital compute and power electronics. You will collaborate with Electrical, RF, and Antenna engineers to set the technical bar for layout quality and scalability, delivering hardware known for reliability and cost efficiency.

You will own complex boards, define stackups, manage DFx guidelines, and help build a team as the first dedicated PCB layout engineer.

Qualifications

• 2+ years in complex, high-density PCB layouts with end-to-end ownership of high-speed/high-frequency designs.
• Hands-on high-speed layout techniques including impedance control, differential pairs, and crosstalk mitigation.
• Experience with fine-pitch BGAs, HDI, materials, and multi-layer stack-ups for high-frequency performance.
• Knowledge of EMI/EMC mitigation and robust PDN design at board level.
• Ability to work autonomously and set layout direction with minimal oversight.

Responsibilities

• Own the physical layout of high-density PCBs with high-speed and high-frequency requirements.
• Define layer stackups, component placement, routing feasibility, and ensure high-speed constraint compliance.
• Create and maintain ECAD libraries for active, passive, and high-pin-count components.
• Ensure DFx adherence (DFM, DFA, DFT) with hardware and production teams.
• Generate fabrication docs (Gerbers, IPC-2581, drill charts) and liaise with vendors.
• Evaluate and adopt advanced PCB tools and automation to scale layout workflows.
• Mentor engineers on high-speed layout practices and set internal standards.

Skills

High-speed layout

RF-aware routing

Impedance control

HDI / fine-pitch BGAs

Differential pairs

Layout autonomy

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering/related field

Tools

Altium Designer

Cadence Allegro

Siemens Xpedition

Job description

Northwood Space is hiring a PCB Designer to establish the discipline from the ground up and lead the layout of next-generation digital compute and power electronics. You will collaborate with Electrical, RF, and Antenna engineers to set the technical bar for layout quality and scalability, delivering hardware known for reliability and cost efficiency.

You will own complex boards, define stackups, manage DFx guidelines, and help build a team as the first dedicated PCB layout engineer.