Hardware Validation Engineer IV

Ascendion; Sunnyvale, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 177,000 - 233,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Long-term disability insurance

Short-term disability insurance

5 personal days

Paid vacation 10-15 days

Holidays 6+1

Ascendion Learning Management System

Job summary

Ascendion is seeking an experienced Hardware Validation Engineer IV to support validation of next-generation wearable hardware in Sunnyvale. You will monitor progress, review CM reports, analyze failures, and drive issues to closure in collaboration with EE design partners.

The role emphasizes measurement skills, data interpretation, and timely issue resolution under leadership. The position requires strong hands-on measurement capability and the ability to flag risks while guiding CM teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or higher required.
• Strong experience with power integrity and signal integrity measurements.
• Ability to write clear SOPs and annotated diagrams.
• Clear technical writing and SOP development essential.
• PCB layout review experience and probe access assessment.
• Experience with lab instruments including high-bandwidth scopes and analyzers.

Responsibilities

• Review CM-generated validation reports for data quality and criteria.
• Analyze validation failures to determine measurement errors, design defects, or assembly issues.
• Coordinate with EE design partners to discuss data and root-cause hypotheses.
• Track issues through resolution and ensure fixes are validated.
• Provide real-time technical guidance to CM during measurements.
• Develop repeatable test procedures and SOPs for CM technicians.
• Mentor CM engineers on measurement techniques and fixture usage.
• Define measurement access strategy and communicate layouts to CM.

Skills

Power integrity

Signal integrity

SOP writing

Schematic reading

PCB layout review

Test procedures

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

PhD in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Power probes

Current probes

Spectrum analyzers

MIPI CSI interface

Job description

Ascendion is an AI-native software engineering disruptor helping businesses innovate faster, smarter, and with greater impact. We partner with enterprise clients across North America, the UK, Europe, and APAC to solve complex challenges in data, experience design, software product engineering, and workforce transformation. Powered by expert engineers, thousands of AI agents, and our Engineering to the Power of AI (EngineeringAI) method, we deliver measurable outcomes that build trust, unlock value, and accelerate growth.

Learn more at https://ascendion.com/

Engineering to the Power of AI™, AAVA™, EngineeringAI, Engineering to Elevate Life™, Enterprise PlatformsAI, Data & InsightsAI, ExperienceAI, GCCAI, OperationsAI, Platform EngineeringAI, ProductAI, and Quality EngineeringAI are trademarks or service marks of Ascendion®. AAVA™ is pending registration. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

We have a culture built on opportunity, inclusion, and a spirit of partnership. Come, change the world with us:

• Build the coolest tech for the world’s leading brands
• Experience the power of transforming digital engineering for Fortune 500 clients
• Master your craft with leading training programs and hands-on experience

Experience a community of change makers!

Join a culture of high-performing innovators with endless ideas and a passion for tech. Our culture is the fabric of our company, and it is what makes us unique and diverse. The way we share ideas, learning, experiences, successes, and joy allows everyone to be their best at Ascendion.

About The Role:

• We are seeking an experienced EE Validation Engineer to support hardware validation of next-generation smart glasses, working closely with the validation lead.
• In this role, your primary focus will be monitoring validation progress, reviewing CM test reports, analyzing failures, and coordinating with EE design partners to drive issues to closure.
• You will also guide CM engineers on measurement procedures and perform hands-on PI/SI debug when needed.
• While you must possess strong hands-on measurement skills, the majority of your time will be spent interpreting data, tracking issues, and ensuring problems are resolved efficiently.
• You will not own final validation decisions, but you are expected to be technically strong enough to flag risks, recommend actions, and keep execution on track under the lead's direction.

Job Title: Hardware Validation Engineer IV

Key Responsibilities:

• Review CM-generated validation reports: verify data quality, flag anomalies, confirm pass/fail criteria are correctly applied
• Analyze validation failures; determine whether issues are measurement errors, design defects, or assembly quality problems
• Coordinate with EE design partners to present data, propose root cause hypotheses, and support corrective action decisions
• Track open issues through resolution; ensure fixes are validated and closed in a timely manner
• Facilitate communication between Contract Manufacturer [CM], Electrical Engineering [EE] design, layout, and firmware teams to keep issues moving
• Maintain issue tracker and provide regular status updates to the validation lead
• Monitor overall validation progress against milestones; elevate risks and blockers early
• Develop clear, repeatable test procedures (SOPs) that CM technicians can execute independently
• Train and guide CM engineers/technicians on proper measurement techniques, probe placement, fixture usage, and data collection
• Define probe points and measurement access strategy; communicate to CM with annotated layout markups
• Provide real-time technical guidance to CM when measurements yield unexpected results
• Establish clear acceptance criteria and escalation paths for CM to follow, in alignment with the validation lead
• Perform PI/SI measurements that require senior-level judgment (e.g., first article bring-up, intermittent failures, subtle noise sources)
• Validate CM measurement setups by performing correlation measurements
• Debug escalated issues that CM cannot resolve independently
• Develop new measurement methodologies and fixtures for novel circuits or challenging probe access
• Support prototype bring-up and characterization during build phases

Minimum Qualifications:

• 4+ years of EE hardware validation experience with strong emphasis on power integrity and signal integrity
• Ability to develop test procedures that others execute, clear technical writing, structured SOPs, annotated diagrams. Strong schematic reading skills, trace signal paths, understand power distribution, map circuit function from schematics and datasheets
• Printed Circuit Board [PCB] layout review experience, assess probe access, Signal Integrity [SI]/ Power Integrity [PI] risk, debug strategy, power regulation circuits.
• Expert-level knowledge of lab instruments including high-bandwidth oscilloscopes, power rail probes, active/differential probes, current probes, spectrum analyzers
• Experience with wearable, mobile, or Internet of Things [IoT] hardware (space-constrained, low-power designs)
• Familiarity with prototype/ Engineering Validation Test [EVT]/ Design Validation Test [DVT]/ Production Validation Test [PVT] build cycles and New Product Introduction [NPI] environments
• Experience with issue tracking systems and cross-functional coordination in hardware programs
• Power sequencing validation and timing verification against Integrated Circuit [IC] specifications
• Power rail stability under varying load conditions; current profiling
• Battery charging circuit validation: charge profiles, protection, thermal limits
• High-speed interface measurement including Mobile Industry Processor Interface Camera Serial Interface [MIPI CSI], SPI, Inter-Integrated Circuit [I2C], Inter-IC Sound [I2S]/ Pulse-Density Modulation [PDM], Universal Serial Bus [USB], Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter [UART]
• Signal quality assessment: rise/fall times, overshoot/undershoot, ringing, eye diagrams
• Crosstalk, reflections, and impedance discontinuities on flex/rigid-flex assemblies

Preferred Qualifications:

• PhD in Electrical Engineering

Location:

Sunnyvale, CA [Onsite]

Salary Range:

The salary for this position is between $176,800 - $232,960 annually. Factors which may affect pay within this range may include geography/market, skills, education, experience, and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

Benefits

The Company offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements.

• medical insurance
• dental insurance
• vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement plan
• long-term disability insurance
• short-term disability insurance
• 5 personal days accrued each calendar year. The Paid time off benefits meet the paid sick and safe time laws that pertains to the City/ State
• 10-15 days of paid vacation time
• 6 paid holidays and 1 floating holiday per calendar year
• Ascendion Learning Management System

Preferred Skills

Printed Circuit Board [PCB] layout review

• Signal Integrity [SI]/ Power Integrity [PI]
• oscilloscopes
• New Product Introduction [NPI]
• Engineering Validation Test [EVT]
• Production Validation Test [PVT]

Ascendion is a full-service digital engineering solutions company. We make and manage software platforms and products that power growth and deliver captivating experiences to consumers and employees.

Our engineering, cloud, data, experience design, and talent solution capabilities accelerate transformation and impact for enterprise clients. Headquartered in New