Principal PCB/A Materials & Process Engineer

Madrona Venture Labs; Kirkland (WA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 224,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

RSU

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

HDHP/HSA

Virtual care

Employee assistance program

Mental health coverage

Travel insurance

Life insurance

Disability

Flexible PTO

401(k) match

Pet insurance

Prepaid legal

Commuter benefits

Paid company holidays

Job summary

Echodyne is seeking a Principal PCB/A Materials & Process Engineer to advance high-performance radar PCBA designs. You will own PCB materials, stackups, fabrication processes, and manufacturability tradeoffs for RF and high-speed electronics, collaborating with design, operations, and suppliers to scale production.

In this role you will guide supplier development, support NPI, and drive improvements in yield and reliability across the product lifecycle.

Qualifications

• BS Degree or higher in Engineering, Material Science, or Physics or equivalent industry experience
• 10 or more years’ experience in design and manufacture of circuit boards for RF applications
• Ability to travel up to 25% domestically and internationally to support development efforts

Responsibilities

• Serve as the technical authority in development for PCB materials, stackups, fabrication processes, and manufacturability tradeoffs for complex RF, high-speed, and mixed-signal designs
• Partner with design engineering, program management, operations, supply chain, and suppliers during NPI to align product requirements with practical PCB and PCBA manufacturing capabilities
• Lead technical engagement with PCB fabricators, material suppliers, and electronics manufacturing suppliers to assess advanced or emerging materials, new fabrication capabilities and processes, identify and resolve process gaps, and support supplier development
• Support supplier selection, qualification builds, production readiness, yield improvement, and root-cause analysis related to PCB fabrication, PCB materials, and PCBA manufacturing processes before production release
• Provide practical design and process guidance to improve manufacturability, reliability, cost, and supplier execution

Skills

PCB materials

Fabrication processes

PCBA assembly

NPI coordination

Supplier development

RF design

High-speed design

Education

BS in Engineering, Materials Science or Physics

Tools

ECAD

Valor

DFM

Job description

Radar Reinvented.

Echodyne offers the world’s first compact solid-state true beam-steering radar for a wide range of industries and applications. Our high-performance radars work in all weather and are designed for autonomous vehicles, uncrewed aircraft & drones, and security of borders, critical infrastructure, and smart cities. The company combines the patented technology of metamaterials with powerful software to create a radar sensor with unprecedented performance at commercial price points. Echodyne offers its radars to companies working in Automotive, Transportation, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Border Security, Smart Cities, Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), and Airspace Management including Urban Air Mobility (UTM).

Echodyne is seeking a Principal PCB/A Materials & Process Engineer to join our fast-growing team.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Echodyne is seeking a Principal PCB/A Materials & Process Engineer with strong expertise in printed circuit board materials, fabrication processes, and electronics assembly processes to support the development and production of high-performance commercial radar products.

At the foundation of every Echodyne radar is a printed circuit board assembly that must deliver RF, high-speed digital, thermal, mechanical, and manufacturing performance within a producible design. In this role, you will serve as a subject matter expert for PCB materials and fabrication processes, while also applying strong working knowledge of PCBA assembly processes to help bring new products to market and improve supplier capability across the product lifecycle.

This role will work primarily in new product development, partnering with design engineering, program management, operations, supply chain, and suppliers to ensure that new PCB and PCBA designs are aligned with capable, scalable, and reliable manufacturing processes. You will also support production supplier development where new or improved supplier capabilities are required to support released products, cost reduction, yield improvement, reliability, or manufacturability needs.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as the technical authority in development for PCB materials, stackups, fabrication processes, and manufacturability tradeoffs for complex RF, high-speed, and mixed-signal designs
• Partner with design engineering, program management, operations, supply chain, and suppliers during NPI to align product requirements with practical PCB and PCBA manufacturing capabilities
• Lead technical engagement with PCB fabricators, material suppliers, and electronics manufacturing suppliers to assess advanced or emerging materials, new fabrication capabilities and processes, identify and resolve process gaps, and support supplier development
• Support supplier selection, qualification builds, production readiness, yield improvement, and root-cause analysis related to PCB fabrication, PCB materials, and PCBA manufacturing processes before production release
• Provide practical design and process guidance to improve manufacturability, reliability, cost, and supplier execution

REQUIRED SKILLS / EXPERIENCE

• Knowledge of PCB materials, fabrication processes, stackups, and design-for-manufacturing / Quality / Reliability practices for RF, high-speed, or mixed-signal products
• Experience working directly with PCB fabricators, material suppliers, and electronics manufacturing suppliers
• Ability to evaluate PCB/PCBA designs, fabrication documentation, supplier design rules, and manufacturing tradeoffs and prioritize activities based on this analysis
• Experience with RF PCB materials, PTFE or mixed-material stackups, rigid-flex construction, metal-backed boards, or complex multilayer fabrication
• Experience with advanced PCB processes such as sequential lamination, blind/buried vias, filled vias, controlled-depth drilling, or controlled-impedance structures
• Experience with electronics manufacturing, supplier development, product manufacturing engineering, or technical supplier management

DESIRED SKILLS / EXPERIENCE (Looking for one or more as a complement to the core skills)

• Experience supporting NPI, supplier qualification, manufacturability reviews, production readiness, or process improvement activities
• Knowledge of PCBA assembly processes, manufacturing constraints, common failure modes, and supplier process controls
• Familiarity with ECAD, DFM, or manufacturing analysis tools such as Valor or equivalent
• Experience supporting failure analysis, yield improvement, corrective actions, or production process development

QUALIFICATIONS

• BS Degree or higher in Engineering, Material Science, or Physics or equivalent industry experience
• 10 or more years’ experience in design and manufacture of circuit boards for RF applications
• Ability to travel up to 25% domestically and internationally to support development efforts

Echodyne’s technology is export controlled by the U.S. Government and we must evaluate an applicant’s eligibility to handle export-controlled information or obtain required Government authorizations. Therefore, we will ask you as part of the application process to identify whether you are a U.S. Citizen or green card holder, or have asylum/refugee status in the U.S.

WHAT WE OFFER

This is an exempt role.

The expected annual salary range for this role is

$149,659—$224,437 USD

We offer competitive compensation and benefits to our full-time, US-based employees, including:

• RSU (Restricted Stock Units)
• Generous Benefits:
  • Fully-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums for you
  • Choice of PPO or HDHP/HSA
  • Virtual Care – 98Point6
  • Employee Assistance Program
• Mental Health coverage through Springhealth & Talkspace (Premera)
• Travel Assistance Insurance
• Company Paid Life Insurance
• Company Paid Short & Long Term Disability
• Flexible PTO (exempt) / 15 days per year (non-exempt)
• 401(k) match
• Pet Insurance
• Prepaid Legal Program
• Commuter Benefits
• Paid Company Holidays

All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, status as a protected veteran or any other characteristic protected by law.