Lead Hardware Systems Engineer

Silicon Light Machines; San Jose (CA); On-site; Confidential; Full time

Job summary

Silicon Light Machines in San Jose, CA seeks a Lead Hardware Systems Engineer to own the design and delivery of custom PCBs and related electronic systems. You will oversee from requirements to fabrication, bring-up, validation, and release, while coordinating internal teams and outside vendors.

The role requires leading multiple parallel PCB projects, setting schedules, and directing electronics, FPGA, firmware, and related engineering efforts in a small-company environment.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 8+ years in electronic system or PCB development.
• Experience owning PCB designs through complete lifecycle.
• Strong knowledge of digital and analog circuit design.
• FPGA familiarity and embedded processors experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of custom PCBs, including digital/analog circuits.
• Serve as technical owner from requirements through fabrication and release.
• Coordinate multiple board-development activities and schedules.
• Manage external vendors, contract manufacturers, and suppliers.
• Generate and maintain technical documentation across projects.

Skills

Electrical engineering

PCB design

Project management

Technical communication

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Education

B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering or related field

Tools

OrCAD Schematic Capture

PSpice / LTSpice

HyperLynx

Vivado / Quartus / ModelSim

Job description

LEAD HARDWARE SYSTEMS ENGINEER - San Jose, CA

About

Silicon Light Machines (SLM) is a Silicon Valley technology company with a history rooted in one of the world's leading centers of innovation. Its foundational Grating Light Valve (GLV®) technology was invented at Stanford University in 1994, and SLM was established to commercialize that breakthrough. More than three decades later, the company continues to advance a highly differentiated optical MEMS platform with applications spanning semiconductor lithography, laser processing, communications, advanced imaging, and emerging technologies.

Job Summary

We are seeking an experienced Hardware Systems Engineer to lead the design, development, and delivery of custom printed circuit boards and associated electronic systems. This individual will serve as the technical owner for board-level development, with responsibility for ensuring designs progress successfully from requirements and architecture through fabrication, integration, testing, debugging, and release.

A significant component of this role is vendor and project management. The successful candidate will coordinate internal and external engineering resources, PCB fabrication and assembly vendors, component suppliers, and specialized technical partners.

The Hardware Systems Engineer will manage multiple board-development efforts, maintain accountability for schedules and deliverables, and provide technical direction across electronics, FPGA, firmware, and related disciplines.

The successful candidate will be comfortable operating in a multidisciplinary, small-company environment and taking ownership of broadly defined technical challenges with limited direction.

Primary Areas of Responsibility

• Lead the design and development of custom printed circuit boards, including digital and analog circuitry.
• Serve as the technical owner for board-level development from initial requirements through fabrication, assembly, bring-up, validation, and release.
• Manage multiple concurrent board-development activities, including new designs, design revisions, troubleshooting, and sustaining engineering.
• Manage and coordinate outside vendors, contract manufacturers, suppliers, and external engineering resources.
• Maintain regular communication with vendors, track deliverables and schedules, resolve technical issues, and ensure projects progress to completion.
• Determine which elements of a design will be completed internally versus externally and identify the appropriate resources to execute the work.
• Coordinate FPGA, firmware, embedded software, PCB layout, and other engineering support required for successful board development.
• Design, test, and debug printed circuit boards incorporating custom circuits, FPGAs, embedded processors, and firmware.
• Define electronics and firmware architectures, specifications, requirements, and data interfaces.
• Characterize new products, including boards, modules, ASICs, and associated electronic systems.
• Perform sustaining engineering on current and legacy products.
• Generate and maintain technical documentation, including requirements, specifications, operating documentation, and design records.
• Collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams across MEMS, optics, electronics, firmware, mechanical engineering, and system development.
• Contribute to the long-term technical direction and capabilities of the electronics organization.

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• 8+ years of professional experience in electronic system and/or printed circuit board development.
• Demonstrated experience designing and owning printed circuit boards through the complete development lifecycle.
• Strong knowledge of digital and analog electronic circuit design.
• Experience with board bring-up, testing, troubleshooting, debugging, and design revisions.
• Demonstrated experience working with and managing PCB vendors, contract manufacturers, suppliers, and/or external engineering resources.
• Working knowledge of FPGA technologies and development processes.
• Familiarity with embedded processors, firmware development, and debugging.
• Strong project-management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple concurrent development efforts.
• Excellent technical communication and interpersonal skills.
• Self-directed and comfortable working across technical disciplines in a dynamic development environment.

Desired Experience

• Circuit design and simulation tools including OrCAD Schematic Capture, PSpice, LTSpice, and/or HyperLynx.
• Xilinx and/or Altera FPGA devices.
• Verilog and/or VHDL and associated development environments such as Vivado, Quartus, Active-HDL, or ModelSim.
• ARM embedded processors and C/C++.
• Embedded firmware development and debugging tools.
• Oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, in-circuit debuggers, and related laboratory equipment.
• PCB fabrication, assembly, manufacturing, and validation processes.
• Project-management tools such as Microsoft Project.