RFIC Design Engineer

Apple, Inc.; Waltham (MA); On-site; USD 135,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical and dental coverage

Retirement benefits

Employee stock purchase plan

Relocation assistance

Education reimbursement

Bonuses/commissions eligibility

Discounted products and free services

Job summary

Apple seeks an RFIC Design Engineer in Waltham, MA to architect, design, and validate high‑performance wireless transceivers for the next generation of wireless SoCs. You will drive transistor‑level studies, deliver TX/RX/LOGEN blocks, and work with RF/Analog, Systems, and FW/SW teams to optimize performance across the product.

Minimum BS plus 3+ years in analog/RF design; proficiency with Cadence Virtuoso, Spectre RF, Matlab, and EM tools is required.

Qualifications

• BS and 3+ years of relevant industry experience.
• Understanding of analog design concepts such as noise analysis, linearity, mismatch, stability, and other analog impairments.
• Experienced in Cadence Virtuoso, Spectre RF, Matlab, EM simulation (EMX, HFSS), and similar tools.
• Expertise in analog, mixed-signal, and RF circuit design. This includes the design of LNAs, PAs, PLL/VCO/DCO/LOGEN blocks, mixers, baseband filters and amplifiers, data converters, and calibration methods related to high-performance wireless systems.
• Experienced in Silicon characterization and debugging.

Responsibilities

• Hands-on design contributions, from concept, architecture, and topology to transistor-level feasibility studies, power, area and performance trade‑off analysis to actual design, simulations, and extractions.
• Design and deliver radio transceiver building blocks and chains, including TX, RX, and PLL‑LOGen for wireless connectivity products.
• Work closely with RF Systems on block‑level and high‑level specifications of the TX RX line‑ups and PLL‑LOGen and on the accurate distribution of spec margins in the chain.
• Design of RF and Analog loopbacks for calibration and compensation.
• Work through Co‑Existence scenarios and design to meet the CoEx requirements.
• We collaborate closely with RFIC test engineers in the setup, debugging, and optimization of the wireless connectivity chip throughout productization.
• Provide design versus silicon measurements correlation and compliance with specifications for volume production.

Skills

Analog/RF design concepts

Cadence Virtuoso

Spectre RF

Matlab

EM simulation

Silicon characterization

Team collaboration

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering

MSEE

PhD (preferred)

Tools

Cadence Virtuoso

Spectre RF

Matlab

EM simulation tools

Job description

Waltham, Massachusetts, United States Hardware

Do you have a passion for invention and self-challenge? Do you thrive with pushing the limits of what’s considered feasible? As part of an outstanding `team, you’ll craft sophisticated, groundbreaking projects that deliver more performance in our products than ever before. You’ll work across fields to transform improved hardware elements into a single, coordinated design. Join us, and you’ll help us innovate new technologies that continually outperform the previous iterations! By collaborating with other product development groups across Apple, you’ll push the industry boundaries of what wireless systems can do and improve the product experience for our customers worldwide.

Description

The wireless RFIC team architects, designs, and validates radio transceivers integrated into wireless SoCs. Our wireless organization is responsible for all aspects of wireless silicon development that transform the user experience at the product level, all of which is driven by an outstanding vertically integrated engineering team spanning RF/Analog architecture and design, Systems/PHY/MAC architecture and design, VLSI/RTL design and integration, Emulation, Design Verification, Test and Validation and FW/SW engineering! As an RFIC Design Engineer within the Wireless Radio team, you will be at the center of a wireless SoC design group, giving to Apple’s groundbreaking wireless connectivity solutions into hundreds of millions of products.

Responsibilities

• You will provide RFIC designs for wireless SoC and drive them to mass production for Apple’s Wireless Connectivity products. Responsibilities include:
• Hands-on design contributions, from concept, architecture, and topology to transistor-level feasibility studies, power, area and performance trade‑off analysis to actual design, simulations, and extractions.
• Design and deliver radio transceiver building blocks and chains, including TX, RX, and PLL‑LOGen for wireless connectivity products.
• Work closely with RF Systems on block‑level and high‑level specifications of the TX RX line‑ups and PLL‑LOGen and on the accurate distribution of spec margins in the chain.
• Design of RF and Analog loopbacks for calibration and compensation.
• Work through Co‑Existence scenarios and design to meet the CoEx requirements.
• We collaborate closely with RFIC test engineers in the setup, debugging, and optimization of the wireless connectivity chip throughout productization.
• Provide design versus silicon measurements correlation and compliance with specifications for volume production.

Minimum Qualifications

• BS and 3 + years of relevant industry experience.
• Understanding of analog design concepts such as noise analysis, linearity, mismatch, stability, and other analog impairments.
• Experienced in Cadence Virtuoso, Spectre RF, Matlab, EM simulation (EMX, HFSS), and similar tools.
• Expertise in analog, mixed‑signal, and RF circuit design. This includes the design of LNAs, PAs, PLL/VCO/DCO/LOGEN blocks, mixers, baseband filters and amplifiers, data converters, and calibration methods associated with such high‑performance wireless systems.
• Experienced in Silicon characterization and debugging.

Preferred Qualifications

• MSEE and PhD plus relevant industry experience.
• Deep experience in crafting and bringing wireless transceivers into mass production is a plus.
• Familiarity with various RF transceiver architectures and their trade‑offs and system specifications, and ability to work with system architects to translate system requirements into circuit requirements at the IC level.
• Understanding of the impact of modulation type on radio architecture and requirements.
• Proven capability to work with digital design groups for an optimum partition between digital and analog domains.
• Familiarity with mixed‑signal mode verification methodology (SystemVerilog, AMS, Nanotime).

At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $134,700 and $249,500, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.
Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple’s discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You’ll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses — including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits
Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.

Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We seek to promote equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant

At Apple, we believe accessibility is a fundamental human right. You’ll find that idea reflected in everything here — in our culture, our benefits and our digital tools. By welcoming as many perspectives as possible, we help you build a career where you feel like you belong.

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Apple accepts applications to this posting on an ongoing basis.