Principal Electronic Engineer (RF)

MKS Inc.; Beaverton (OR); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

MKS Inc. in Beaverton, OR is seeking a Principal Electrical Engineer to strengthen RF design, measurement, troubleshooting, and system integration for advanced industrial equipment.

You will influence RF architecture, validation planning, and product performance while mentoring other engineers and supporting development from concept to manufacturing. The role requires broad electrical engineering judgment, solid RF/high-frequency experience, and a track record of hands-on problem solving across

Qualifications

• Requires a Bachelor of Science in Engineering with 8+ years of relevant RF experience.
• Master's degree is preferred for higher seniority and leadership.
• Proven ability to solve complex hardware issues hands-on with data and experiments.

Responsibilities

• Lead RF/high-frequency subsystem design, integration, validation, and troubleshooting.
• Guide tradeoffs, test strategies, validation methods, and design reviews across teams.
• Provide hands-on electrical engineering support across product development, manufacturing, service, and sustaining activities.
• Mentor engineers and help teams build repeatable RF capabilities across projects.

Skills

RF design judgment

Cross-functional collaboration

Mentoring others

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor of Science in Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Job description

A Day in your Life as MKS:

As a Principal Electrical Engineer supporting the Systems Business Unite, you will help to strengthen our RF design, measurement, troubleshooting, and system-integration capability. This hands-on role supports complex RF and electrical subsystems used in advanced industrial equipment, from early R&D concepts through validated product solutions. You will bring to the team a deep RF/high-frequency experience, broad electrical engineering judgment, and the ability to mentor others while supporting product development, integration, validation, manufacturing, service, and sustaining needs. You will support technical decision-making and product development by contributing to RF architecture choices, measurement strategy, design reviews, validation planning, product performance, reliability, and faster resolution of complex RF/electrical issues. In this role, you will report to the Electrical Engineering Manager.

You Will Make an Impact By:

• Serving as a senior technical resource for RF/high-frequency subsystem design, integration, validation, and troubleshooting, including architecture, RF amplifier architectures, measurement methods, signal integrity, and system-level interaction.
• Turning early R&D ideas into practical subsystem approaches, prototypes, requirements, experiments, validation plans, or proof-of-concept hardware that can move toward product use.
• Providing hands-on electrical engineering support across product development, integration, validation, manufacturing, service, and sustaining activities, including subsystem design, PCBA development, box-build integration, troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, customer support, and cross-functional technical leadership.
• Influencing technical direction by guiding tradeoffs, test strategies, validation methods, design reviews, and cross-functional decisions while mentoring others and helping teams build repeatable capability.

Skills You Bring:

• Strong RF engineering judgment, with the ability to guide architecture, troubleshooting, measurement, and system-integration decisions for high-frequency subsystems.
• Requires a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Degree, 8 years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. A Master's degree is preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to solve complex, open-ended hardware problems hands-on with a team using data, experiments, and engineering judgment to narrow root cause and recommend practical next steps.
• Ability to build productive cross-functional relationships, communicate technical tradeoffs clearly, share knowledge, remain open to feedback and direction, work within established processes, and help others develop stronger technical capability.

Preferred Skills:

• High-frequency/RF design, troubleshooting, measurement, controls, or system integration.
• Hands-on debug of complex electrical, system-level, or advanced industrial equipment problems.
• Turning early technical ideas into practical experiments, prototypes, requirements, validation approaches, or product-ready subsystem concepts.
• Technical leadership across cross-functional teams, including knowledge sharing, and helping others build capability.
• Broader electrical engineering experience such as analog, mixed-signal, controls, power, cabling, interconnects, sensors, motion, or electro-mechanical integration.

Physical Demands & Working Conditions:

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for most of the time
• Constantly operates a computer and other office productivity machinery
• Frequently operates electronic equipment