Senior Electronics Engineer

MKS Instruments, Inc.; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) with company match

Parental leave

Tuition reimbursement

6 weeks paid parental leave

Job summary

MKS Instruments, Inc. is seeking a Senior Electronics Engineer to design, develop, test, and support electronic hardware and embedded firmware across the product lifecycle.

You will collaborate with global engineering teams and participate in customer discussions, contributing to robust and manufacturable solutions. The role requires 5+ years of electronics experience (or 3+ with a Master’s), skills in C/C++, PCB design, and board bring‑up.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering or equivalent with 5+ years in electronics or 3+ years with a Master’s.
• Experience designing electronic hardware across the product lifecycle, including validation and sustaining engineering.
• Strong embedded firmware development experience for microcontroller-based systems in C/C++.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and support electronic hardware from concept through production and sustaining engineering.
• Develop and troubleshoot embedded firmware for microcontroller-based systems.
• Perform board bring-up, hardware verification, debugging, and root-cause analysis.

Skills

Circuit design

PCB design

Embedded firmware (C/C++)

Board bring-up & validation

Python scripting

Technical collaboration

Learning new tech

Education

Bachelor of Science in Engineering

Master's degree (advantage)

Tools

Altium Designer

Oscilloscopes & analyzers

Job description

A Day in Your Life at MKS:

As a Senior Electronics Engineer at MKS, you will work with multidisciplinary engineering teams to design, develop, test, and support electronic systems and subsystems throughout the product lifecycle. Your day will involve creating schematics, performing board bring-up and validation, developing embedded firmware, troubleshooting complex technical issues, supporting manufacturing activities, collaborating with global engineering teams, and participating in customer‑facing technical discussions. You will help deliver reliable, high‑quality products while contributing to process improvements and helping expand the team’s technical capabilities.

Principal Responsibilities:

Design, develop, and support electronic hardware for new and existing products throughout the product lifecycle, including validation, production release, and sustaining engineering. Develop, maintain, and troubleshoot embedded firmware for microcontroller‑based systems to support product functionality, enhancements, and issue resolution. Perform board bring‑up, hardware verification, debugging, and root‑cause analysis using laboratory test and measurement equipment. Collaborate with cross‑functional and global engineering teams to develop robust, reliable, and manufacturable product solutions. Participate in customer‑facing technical discussions, workshops, and escalation activities, including domestic and international travel as required.

You Will Make an Impact By:

Designing, developing, and supporting electronic hardware solutions for new and existing products from concept through production and sustaining engineering. Developing and maintaining embedded firmware for microcontroller‑based products to support product functionality, enhancements, and issue resolution. Driving hardware verification, board bring‑up, troubleshooting, and root‑cause investigations to improve product performance and reliability. Working collaboratively in a multi‑disciplinary engineering environment to deliver robust, high‑quality products. Taking ownership of technical challenges and contributing to continuous improvement initiatives across products and processes. Representing the engineering team in customer‑facing meetings and collaborating with global teams to address technical challenges and customer requirements. Ability and willingness to travel domestically and internationally up to 15% of the time, including occasional extended trips to support customer meetings, technical workshops, product reviews, and issue‑resolution activities.

Skills You Bring:

• Strong foundation in electronic circuit design, including schematic capture, component selection, and debugging of digital and mixed‑signal circuits.
• Experience with PCB development and familiarity with PCB fabrication, assembly, and test processes, including Design for Manufacturability (DfM), Design for Reliability (DfR), and Design for Testability (DfT).
• Experience developing embedded firmware for microcontroller‑based systems using C/C++.
• Hands‑on experience with board bring‑up, hardware validation, and laboratory debug tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and related instrumentation.
• Experience using Python or other scripting languages for engineering automation, data analysis, test development, or productivity improvements.
• Strong communication, documentation, collaboration, and problem‑solving skills with the ability to work effectively across engineering disciplines and customer‑facing environments.
• Demonstrated ability to learn new technologies, adapt to changing technical requirements, and contribute across multiple engineering disciplines.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant electronics engineering experience with a Bachelor's Degree or 3 years of relevant electronics engineering experience with a Master's Degree.

Required Skills:

Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree or equivalent experience 5+ years of related experience in Electronic Engineering

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with PCB design tools such as Altium Designer.
• Experience with ARM, STM32, PIC, AVR, MSP430, or similar microcontroller platforms.
• Familiarity with common communication interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART, USB, and Ethernet.
• Experience with automated test systems, engineering software tools, or laboratory data analysis.
• Familiarity with AI‑assisted engineering tools and modern software development workflows.
• Exposure to FPGA technologies is beneficial but not required.

Compensation and Benefits:

Salary Pay Range: $120,000 - $135,000 USD per year. This range is a good faith estimate of the expected salary range for this position, based on a wide range of factors including qualifications, experience and training, operational and business needs and other considerations permitted by law.

Bonus: This position is eligible for a discretionary annual bonus, in an amount to be determined by MKS.

Benefits:

• MKS offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health insurance coverage (medical, dental and vision), 401(k) with company match, life and disability insurance, 12 paid holidays, sick time, 15 paid vacation days, [6 weeks fully paid] parental leave, adoption assistance and tuition reimbursement.

#LI-RS1

Globally, our policy is to recruit individuals from wide and diverse backgrounds.

However, certain positions require access to controlled goods and technologies subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) or Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Applicants for these positions may need to be “U.S. persons.” “U.S. persons” are generally defined as U.S. citizens, noncitizen nationals, lawful permanent residents (or, green card holders), individuals granted asylum, and individuals admitted as refugees.

MKS Inc. and its affiliates and subsidiaries (“MKS”) is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer: diverse candidates are encouraged to apply.

We win as a team and are committed to recruiting and hiring qualified applicants regardless of race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy‑related conditions), religion, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability or handicap, marital status, membership in the uniformed services, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other category protected by applicable law.

Hiring decisions are based on merit, qualifications and business needs.

We conduct background checks and drug screens, in accordance with applicable law and company policies.

MKS is generally only hiring candidates who reside in states where we are registered to do business.

MKS is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or interview process due to a disability, please contact us at: [e-mail].

If applying for a specific job, please include the requisition number (ex: RXXXX), the title and location of the role At MKS, it's all about courage, big ideas, and a serious passion for innovation. Winning here is about exploring possibilities, taking action, and solving our customers’ toughest challenges. It's not just a job – it's what you make of it. While you shape your role and make it unique, we invest in you with on‑the‑job and formal training, as well as educational assistance. Curiosity is key at MKS - ask questions, own your path. Our success comes from celebrating the unique skills, diverse perspectives, and lived experience of employees from over 100 countries. The goal is to make sure that everyone feels that they belong. Diversity isn't just a nice‑to‑have; making sure everyone feels included is a big deal for us. Our group of ~10,000 employees serves semiconductor manufacturing, electronics and packaging, and specialty industrial markets. With over 3,800 patents, our products are enabling advancements in 5G, renewable energy & storage, artificial intelligence, cloud technology, and big data. We're the behind‑the‑scenes support for some amazing technology. MKS Inc., enables technologies that transform our world. MKS Inc, Product Overview