Senior ECAD Designer – Power & High‑Speed PCB (Altium)

Capital Factory; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Apptronik is seeking a Senior ECAD Designer to own PCB schematic capture and layout in Altium Designer, focusing on power electronics and high-speed digital design. You will drive boards from architecture through layout with an emphasis on DFM, EMC/EMI, and robust production readiness.

Collaborating with electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing teams, you will deliver reliable designs on schedule, write clear documentation, and mentor junior designers in layout best practices and tool usage.

Qualifications

• Expert-level proficiency in Altium Designer for schematic capture and PCB layout.
• Experience with power electronics: DC/DC converters, power planes, high-current traces, thermal management.
• Experience with high-speed digital layout: impedance-controlled routing, differential pairs, length matching, via optimization for GHz-class interfaces.
• SI/PI concepts and how layout affects them; collaboration with SI/PI engineers a plus.
• DFM/DFA principles and working with fabrication houses and contract manufacturers.
• EMC/EMI mitigation techniques in layout (grounding, shielding, filtering).
• IPC standards familiarity; CID or CID+ preferred.
• Flex/rigid-flex/HDI/microvia design a plus.
• Strong documentation and cross-functional communication; mentoring capability.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects and provide direction to junior designers.

Responsibilities

• PCB Design & Layout: Schematic capture and PCB layout for mixed-signal, power, and high-speed boards.
• Define stack-up, layer count, and material selection to meet electrical, thermal, and cost targets.
• Power delivery networks design and routing for DC/DC converters, bus/rail distribution.
• High-speed design: controlled-impedance routing, differential pairs, length matching, via strategy for GHz interfaces.
• Apply DFM/DFA with fabricators and CM partners; discuss design rule checks and yield/cost tradeoffs.
• EMC/EMI: grounding, shielding, layer-stack techniques; support pre-compliance testing.
• Documentation: Gerbers, drill files, BOMs, fabrication drawings, etc.; design rule sets maintenance.
• Library management: Altium symbols, footprints, and component data per standards.
• Cross-functional collaboration with electrical, mechanical, thermal, and manufacturing engineers; communicate tradeoffs.
• Mentorship: guide junior/mid-level designers on layout best practices and Altium usage.

Skills

Altium Designer

Power electronics

High-speed layout

Signal integrity

DFM/DFA

EMC/EMI

IPC standards

CID/CID+

HDI/microvia

Documentation & mentoring

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

Job description

Apptronik is seeking a Senior ECAD Designer to own PCB schematic capture and layout in Altium Designer, focusing on power electronics and high-speed digital design. You will drive boards from architecture through layout with an emphasis on DFM, EMC/EMI, and robust production readiness.

Collaborating with electrical, mechanical, and manufacturing teams, you will deliver reliable designs on schedule, write clear documentation, and mentor junior designers in layout best practices and tool usage.