Mixed-Signal Engineer

PLP Group; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous equity

Healthcare including vision & dental

401(k)

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

Azora is designing mixed-signal electronics for space terminals and ground stations, focusing on high-speed ADC/DAC chains, laser driver circuits, and precision bias loops. Engineers will design schematics and PCBs, perform SI/PI analyses, and develop FPGA interfaces.

The role requires a BS/MS in EE and 4+ years of experience, with hands-on lab skills, and familiarity with space radiation tolerance and time-transfer systems.

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 4+ years of mixed-signal hardware design experience, including high-speed PCB design.
• Strong analog fundamentals: noise analysis, op-amp and TIA design, PLLs/clocking, power supply design.
• Hands-on lab experience with oscilloscopes, spectrum/network analyzers, and automated board characterization.
• Experience interfacing data converters to FPGAs.
• Preferred FPGA development experience (VHDL/Verilog/SystemVerilog) on Xilinx/AMD or Intel platforms, including high-speed transceivers.
• Experience with optical transceiver electronics, coherent receivers, or photon-counting detector readout.
• Familiarity with space-grade electronics design: radiation effects (TID, SEE), redundancy, and derating standards (ECSS or NASA EEE-INST-002).
• Experience with low-jitter clock distribution and time-transfer systems.

Responsibilities

• Design schematic and PCB layouts for mixed-signal boards: high-speed data converters, transimpedance amplifiers, laser/modulator drivers, low-noise bias supplies, and clocking.
• Perform signal integrity and power integrity analysis for multi-GHz analog paths and high-speed serial links (JESD204, SerDes).
• Develop precision analog control loops: laser temperature/current control, photodiode bias, FSM drive electronics, and AGC chains.
• Bring up, debug, and characterize boards in the lab; own noise, linearity, and bandwidth verification against link budget allocations.
• Define and implement FPGA interfaces to data converters and control peripherals; collaborate on (or implement) RTL for data capture, calibration, and real-time control.
• Design for reliability and environment: derating, worst-case analysis, and parts selection for space applications (rad-tolerant/rad-hard component trades).
• Support EMC/EMI design and testing, and environmental qualification campaigns.

Skills

Mixed-signal hardware design

High-speed PCB design

Signal integrity analysis

Power integrity analysis

Data converter interfacing

FPGA interfaces

Noise analysis

Time-transfer knowledge

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering

MS in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium

Cadence Allegro

Oscilloscopes

Spectrum/Network analyzers

Job description

Job detailsEngineeringSan Francisco Bay Area, PhoenixFull-time$130,000 USD - $170,000 USDRoleDesign the mixed-signal electronics that sit between Azora's photonic front ends and digital processing: high-speed ADC/DAC chains, amplifiers and driver circuits, precision bias and control loops, and the FPGA interfaces that tie them together. Your boards will fly in space terminals and run in ground station receivers, where every dB of implementation loss matters against a quantum-limited budget.ResponsibilitiesDesign schematic and PCB layouts for mixed-signal boards: high-speed data converters, transimpedance amplifiers, laser/modulator drivers, low-noise bias supplies, and clocking.Perform signal integrity and power integrity analysis for multi-GHz analog paths and high-speed serial links (JESD204, SerDes).Develop precision analog control loops: laser temperature/current control, photodiode bias, FSM drive electronics, and AGC chains.Bring up, debug, and characterize boards in the lab; own noise, linearity, and bandwidth verification against link budget allocations.Define and implement FPGA interfaces to data converters and control peripherals; collaborate on (or implement) RTL for data capture, calibration, and real-time control.Design for reliability and environment: derating, worst-case analysis, and parts selection for space applications (rad-tolerant/rad-hard component trades).Support EMC/EMI design and testing, and environmental qualification campaigns.Required QualificationsBS/MS in Electrical Engineering or related field.4+ years of mixed-signal hardware design experience, including high-speed PCB design (Altium, Cadence Allegro, or similar).Strong analog fundamentals: noise analysis, op-amp and TIA design, PLLs/clocking, power supply design.Hands-on lab experience with oscilloscopes, spectrum/network analyzers, and automated board characterization.Experience interfacing data converters to FPGAs.PreferredFPGA development experience (VHDL/Verilog/SystemVerilog) on Xilinx/AMD or Intel platforms, including high-speed transceivers.Experience with optical transceiver electronics, coherent receivers, or photon-counting detector readout (APD/SPAD/SNSPD bias and readout).Familiarity with space-grade electronics design: radiation effects (TID, SEE), redundancy, and derating standards (ECSS or NASA EEE-INST-002).Experience with low-jitter clock distribution and time-transfer systems.Benefits:Generous equityCompetitive healthcare (including options for vision and dental)401(k)Unlimited PTOEEO & Reasonable AccommodationsAzora is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know by contacting [e-mail] ControlTo conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicants must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (iii) protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or (iv) be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.Salary ranges are based on the following criteria:Final salary is based on geographic location, experience, skills, and qualifications.About this CompanyAzora is building high-bandwidth communications infrastructure for environments where fiber can’t reach. This work spans LEO spacecraft constellations, lunar exploration missions, GEO satcom, deployable optical ground for defense, and data centers both on- and off-world. To enable rapid global proliferation Azora is developing compact and modular optical terminals small enough to deploy from a backpack, and space terminals that support high speed optical links from LEO out to the Moon.