Senior Electronics Design and Characterization Engineer

Jobtailor; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor is seeking an experienced hardware characterization engineer in Irvine, CA to design and execute formal test plans for ECUs. You will own coverage analyses, perform bench-level RF and power characterization, and collaborate with firmware teams to validate testable designs.

Ideal candidates bring 7+ years in electronics characterization, strong Python scripting, and familiarity with AI-assisted data analysis.

Qualifications

• BS/MS or equivalent work experience in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 7+ years of experience in electronics design, characterization and validation testing.
• Hands-on with high-bandwidth scopes, VNA, BERT, power supplies and probes.
• Familiar with RF fundamentals and wireless connectivity testers.
• Proficient in Python for data analysis and automation.
• Experience using AI tools to write or refactor test code and analyze data.

Responsibilities

• Develop detailed design verification and characterization test plans for ECU programs.
• Execute characterization testing according to milestones.
• Own test coverage reports and analysis.
• Characterize power integrity and RF performance for infotainment ECUs.
• Interact with software engineers to flash and test firmware.
• Lead root-cause analysis of non-conforming results and drive closure.
• Write Python automation scripts and AI-assisted instrumentation drivers.
• Provide early design feedback on testability and instrumentation hooks.
• Support Design for Testability reports and status updates to leadership.

Skills

Characterization testing

Python scripting

AI tools

Power integrity

Altium Designer

Linux command line

RF fundamentals

Databricks

Education

Electrical Engineering Degree

Tools

High-Bandwidth Oscilloscopes

VNA

Spectrum Analyzers

LTspice

PSpice

SIMetrix

Altium Designer

Job description

• Develop detailed design verification and characterization test plans and requirements for all phases of ECU programs


• Execute characterization testing according to project milestones


• Own test coverage reports and analysis


• Perform bench-level characterization at IC and PCBA levels, including power, thermal, fault, and power-state behavior


• Characterize high-speed ECU interfaces including GMSL, FPD-Link, USB, PCIe, Automotive Ethernet, and debug interfaces


• Characterize conducted RF performance of integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth/BLE, cellular, UWB, NFC, and GNSS radios


• Lead power integrity and coexistence/desense characterization for infotainment and connectivity ECUs


• Characterize protection and fault behavior and verify diagnostics and recovery


• Provide early design feedback on design decisions, testability, test-point access, and instrumentation hooks


• Support creation and presentation of Design for Testability reports


• Communicate characterization status to upper management and cross-functional teams


• Write Python automation scripts and instrumentation drivers, using AI coding agents while owning code quality and validation


• Use AI tooling to analyze characterization datasets and convert findings into design or test recommendations


• Work with software engineers to flash, test, and troubleshoot firmware


• Participate in root-cause analysis of non-compliant test results and drive cross-functional closure

Requirements

• BS/MS or equivalent work experience in Electrical Engineering or related field


• 7+ years of experience in electronics design, characterization and validation testing


• Experience using high-bandwidth oscilloscopes and probes, VNA, BERT, power supplies, electronic loads, digital multimeters, DAQ, source measure units, current probes, and switch matrices


• Hands-on experience with spectrum analyzers, vector signal analyzers/generators, or wireless connectivity testers


• Strong understanding of Electrical Engineering fundamentals and circuit analysis


• Practical understanding of power and signal integrity fundamentals for high-compute hardware


• Working understanding of RF fundamentals


• Experience in scripting and data analysis using Python


• Demonstrated use of AI tools such as Claude, Claude Code, Copilot, or Cursor to write/refactor test code and analyze characterization data


• Hands-on characterization experience with infotainment/head units, cockpit compute, telematics units, or connectivity gateways preferred


• Experience with radio coexistence and desense debugging preferred


• Familiarity with low-level firmware and C programming preferred


• Comfort working at the Linux/Android/QNX command line preferred


• Experience with Altium Designer preferred


• Working knowledge of vehicle electrical systems, communication buses, and diagnostic protocols preferred


• Experience developing automated test setups preferred


• Experience designing custom PCBAs, high-speed interposers, RF fixtures, or characterization breakout boards preferred


• Experience with storage endurance and health characterization preferred


• Experience with thermal instrumentation preferred


• Experience in Databricks or similar environments preferred


• Proficiency with LTspice, PSpice, or SIMetrix preferred

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in Electrical Engineering with a focus on characterization and validation testing for ECUs, utilizing advanced tools and methodologies. Proficient in Python scripting and AI tools for data analysis and automation in high-speed electronic systems.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• Electrical Engineering Degree


• 7+ Years Experience in Characterization Testing


• Python Scripting and Data Analysis


• High-Bandwidth Oscilloscope and VNA Experience


• AI Tool Utilization for Test Code

ATS Optimization Keywords

Hard Skills

• Characterization Testing


• Circuit Analysis


• Power Integrity Fundamentals


• RF Fundamentals


• Automated Test Setup Development


• Custom PCB Design


• Thermal Instrumentation


• Data Analysis


• Debugging Firmware


• Signal Integrity

Soft Skills

• Communication with Cross-Functional Teams


• Root-Cause Analysis


• Design Feedback Provision

Industry Keywords

• ECU Programs


• Infotainment Systems


• Connectivity Gateways


• Automotive Ethernet


• GMSL


• FPD-Link


• USB


• PCIe


• NFC


• GNSS

Tools & Technologies

• High-Bandwidth Oscilloscopes


• Spectrum Analyzers


• Python


• AI Coding Agents


• Altium Designer


• Linux Command Line


• Databricks


• LTspice


• PSpice


• SIMetrix