Principal Electrical Engineer, Implant Electronics

Blackbird Ventures Pty; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

401k

PTO 20 days

Meals on site

Professional development

Flexible hours

Travel opportunities

Job summary

Coherence Neuro in San Francisco is seeking a Principal Electrical Engineer to own the implant's electrical architecture for SOMA and lead its design and integration on-site. You will define how stimulation, recording, optical and digital electronics fit together, and take major portions from concept to bring-up and debug.

The ideal candidate will have 8+ years in mixed-signal, dense electronics, and demonstrated leadership in cross-functional teams while meeting power, EMI, MRI, and

Qualifications

• 8+ years in complex electronic systems with hands-on architecture and debugging.
• Experience owning electrical architecture of space- and power-constrained products to production.
• Hands-on schematic design, component selection, bring-up and debug of mixed-signal boards.
• Deep expertise in power distribution, grounding, and signal integrity.
• Experience with rigid-flex/HDI PCBA and vendor collaboration on manufacturability.
• Knowledge of EMC, thermal and safety constraints.
• Demonstrated technical leadership and cross-functional collaboration.
• Strong documentation and communication of interfaces and design rationale.

Responsibilities

• Own the overall implant electrical architecture.
• Contribute to schematic design and board architecture.
• Lead transition to dense rigid-flex/HDI implant PCBA.
• Resolve cross-subsystem decisions and define interfaces.
• Ensure power, thermal, noise, safety, EMC, MRI requirements met; verify at system level.
• Define electrical interfaces with mechanical engineering.
• Produce architecture documents, specs, analyses, and verification reports.
• Mentor junior engineers through hands-on design reviews.

Skills

Electrical architecture

Mixed-signal design

Schematic design

PCB design

Power distribution

System integration

Leadership

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering

Advanced degree preferred

PhD considered

Tools

HDI PCB manufacturing

ECAD tools

EMC testing equipment

Job description

Job Title: Principal Electrical Engineer, Implant Electronics

Location: San Francisco, CA

Type: Full-Time (on-site)

Level: L5 — Principal Engineer

Coherence Neuro is a highly interdisciplinary neurotechnology company solving some of the most challenging biological and medical problems that remain unmet. Our goal is to develop technologies that significantly increase the quality and length of life for those with debilitating and deadly cancers in the brain and body. We are backed by the best global venture capital firms, and are scaling our team across multiple sites to bring our products to those who need it as quickly and safely as possible. If you're driven to push the boundaries of engineering and science and want to help build something that genuinely changes lives, we want to hear from you. We value diversity and encourage applicants from all backgrounds to join us in our mission. Learn about our team here!

We are seeking a Principal Electrical Engineer to own the overall electrical architecture of SOMA, our fully implantable therapeutic brain stimulation system, and to lead its design and integration hands‑on at our San Francisco office.

This is a hands‑on technical role. You will define how the implant's stimulation, recording, optical and digital electronics fit together, and you will own major portions of the actual design and integration work: schematics, component selection, board architecture, bring‑up and debug, through to a dense rigid‑flex/HDI implant PCBA. Working with the Senior EEs, you will resolve cross‑subsystem design decisions and make sure the integrated implant meets its power, thermal, noise, safety, EMC and MRI requirements. The ideal candidate is a mixed‑signal engineer who has taken a dense, low‑power product from architecture to production, and who is happiest with a schematic open and a scope probe in hand.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the overall implant electrical architecture: subsystem partitioning, interfaces, power distribution, and grounding and reference strategy across the stimulation, recording, optical and digital electronics.
• Contribute directly to schematic design, component selection and board architecture, taking major portions of the implant electronics from concept through bring‑up and debug.
• Lead the transition from development boards to a dense rigid‑flex/HDI implant PCBA, working with layout, fabrication and assembly partners.
• Resolve cross‑subsystem electrical design decisions and trade‑offs with the senior leads, and own system‑level interface and integration requirements.
• Ensure the integrated implant PCBA meets its power, thermal, noise, safety, EMC, MRI and manufacturability requirements, and verify it at the system level.
• Define the electrical interfaces with mechanical engineering, including the enclosure, feedthroughs, connectors and coil placement.
• Produce architecture documents, interface specifications, analyses and verification reports for the design history file under ISO 13485, and contribute to ISO 14971 risk analysis.
• Mentor junior engineers through hands‑on design work and design reviews.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 8+ years of industry experience (or 6+ with PhD) developing complex electronic systems, with significant hands‑on responsibility for architecture, circuit design, integration, and debugging.
• Track record owning the electrical architecture of a complex, space‑and power‑constrained product through to production.
• Hands‑on schematic design, component selection, bring‑up and debug of mixed‑signal boards combining analog front ends, power conversion and digital logic.
• Deep expertise in power distribution, grounding, noise and signal integrity in dense mixed‑signal systems.
• Experience designing rigid‑flex and/or HDI PCBAs and working with fabrication and assembly vendors on manufacturability.
• Working knowledge of EMC design and testing, and of designing electronics to thermal and safety constraints.
• Demonstrated technical leadership: driving cross‑functional design decisions with minimal oversight and mentoring engineers.
• Strong technical documentation and communication skills, with the ability to clearly define interfaces, architecture decisions, constraints, and design rationale.

Bonus Skills

• Active implantable or Class II/III medical device development; familiarity with ISO 14708, IEC 60601, ISO 13485 and ISO 14971.
• MR Conditional design and testing (e.g. ASTM F2182, ISO/TS 10974).
• Neural stimulation or recording electronics; wirelessly powered systems.

Reporting Structure:

The SOMA electrical engineering team has a flat structure. This role reports directly to the VP of Product Engineering and Manufacturing and works as a peer alongside the senior leads.

Benefits:

• Healthcare, dental and vision
• 401k with company match
• Industry leading paid time off (PTO) - 20 days/year + federal holidays
• Daily meals and snacks provided on site
• Professional development support and training opportunities.
• Flexible working hours and travel opportunities (We have sites in Australia, UK and US!)
• A chance to work on impactful, life-changing technologies in a dynamic, innovative environment.