Senior Application Engineer – EE / Audio, Santa Clara

xMEMS; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

xMEMS, based in Santa Clara, CA, is seeking a Senior Applications Engineer to support customer design-in processes with expertise in mixed signal circuit design and PCB hardware development. The ideal candidate has over 5 years of experience in electronics and will work hands-on in characterizing performance, debugging systems, and collaborating with customers. xMEMS is at the forefront of edge AI, offering a dynamic environment for innovative engineers to contribute to groundbreaking audio technologies.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in the electronics industry, preferably in mixed-signal audio amplifier
• Hands-on experience with component selection and PCB layout design
• Strong lab experience using oscilloscopes and related equipment

Responsibilities

• Provide engineering support during design-in, validation, and commercialization
• Develop xMEMS hardware platforms including schematic and PCB design
• Characterize and validate system performance

Skills

Mixed signal circuit design experience

PCB hardware development

Customer-facing experience

Strong verbal and written communication

Component selection

Schematic design

Lab measurement techniques

Troubleshooting hardware issues

Collaboration across teams

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Acoustics, Physics, or related field

Tools

Cadence

Altium

Audio Precision

SoundCheck

Job description

xMEMS is at the heart of edge AI, redefining what’s possible in sound reproduction and thermal management with the world’s most innovative piezoMEMS platform. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, we’ve built a portfolio of 300+ patents and brought the world’s first solid‑state MEMS speakers and micro‑cooling chips to market. Our PulseAir MEMS speakers are powering the next wave of AI wearables—from smart glasses to earbuds—while our µCooling technology is solving critical thermal challenges not only in edge AI devices like smartphones and AR glasses, but also in datacenter infrastructure including high‑performance SSDs and optical transceivers. Backed by $21M+ in Series D funding, we’re at the intersection of silicon innovation and the global AI buildout, scaling fast and looking for exceptional people to help tell our story.

We are seeking a Senior Applications Engineer with a strong mixed signal circuit design experience (including BT integration) and a proven history in PCB hardware development to own the full cycle of customer design‑in — from schematic capture to PCB layout through board bring‑up, lab validation, characterization and production support. This is a hands‑on hardware role: you will be on the bench characterizing performance (THD, power consumption, etc.), data protocol validation (I2C, I2S), debugging real systems, and working directly with customers and ODM partners to ensure successful commercialization. You will also serve as the voice of the customer feedback to our IC design team and translating system‑level requirements into actionable engineering input. If you are an experienced hardware engineer who enjoys working at the intersection of rigorous lab work and direct customer engagement, this role is built for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide direct engineering support to key customers, ODM/CM partners, and Field Applications Engineers during design‑in, validation, and commercialization.
• Develop xMEMS hardware platforms, including schematic design, PCB design.
• Characterize, validate, and debug electrical and acoustic system performance.
• Perform electrical assembly, soldering, and bring‑up of demo and evaluation systems.
• Lead acoustic system tuning and performance optimization for micro speaker modules and related audio platforms.
• Conduct lab measurements and validation, including SPL, THD, frequency response, and electrical signal integrity.
• Troubleshoot field and customer issues, perform root cause analysis, and drive issue resolution across hardware and system levels.
• Collaborate closely with IC design engineers to define design requirements based on customer use cases and system needs.
• Work cross‑functionally with mechanical, DSP, acoustic, product, and test engineers to support product development and customer deployment.
• Support technical communication with customers through clear verbal, written, and specification‑level documentation.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Acoustics, Physics, or related field
• 5+ years of experience in the electronics industry, preferably with mixed‑signal audio amplifier, power, or related hardware background
• Strong customer‑facing experience with excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Hands‑on experience with component selection, schematic entry, and PCB layout design concepts; Cadence or Altium preferred
• Strong lab experience using oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, logic analyzers, and related bench equipment
• Audio system test experience using platforms such as Audio Precision, SoundCheck, or equivalent
• Strong knowledge of acoustic fundamentals, and audio system performance validation
• Experience debugging electrical and acoustic hardware issues in a hands‑on development environment
• Ability to read, write, and work from detailed technical specifications
• Strong ability to collaborate with mechanical, DSP, acoustic, and third‑party engineering teams

Location

• This position will be based in Santa Clara, CA.