Senior Engineer - Electrical

Vector Atomic, Inc.; Pleasanton (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Platinum-level family health coverage

Health & dependent care FSA

Employer 401(k) contributions

20 days paid time off

Paid parental leave

Stock ownership plan

Fully stocked kitchen

Job summary

A cutting-edge technology company in Pleasanton, California is seeking an experienced electrical engineer to design innovative electronic solutions for quantum instruments. The role involves overseeing the entire PCB design process, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, and optimizing the performance of high-density layouts. Ideal candidates will have a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and significantly relevant experience, along with proficiency in Altium Designer. The position offers a competitive salary and excellent benefits, including comprehensive health coverage and a 401(k) plan.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field, 6 years experience, or Master's with 3 years experience.
• Experience in complex, mixed-signal PCBA designs.
• Ability to work in a laboratory setting.

Responsibilities

• Design innovative electronic solutions for quantum instruments.
• Oversee the entire lifecycle of PCB processes.
• Optimize signal and power integrity in designs.

Skills

Electrical design

High-density layouts

Signal integrity

PCBA design

Debugging skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Master’s degree in relevant field

Tools

Altium Designer

ECAD Tools

PLM system

Job description

Vector Atomic, an IonQ company, is building quantum technology to transform navigation, timing, geophysical exploration, and telecommunications. Our team of engineers, scientists, software developers, and operations professionals works together to solve complex challenges and turn bold ideas into real‑world solutions. We value collaboration, curiosity, and diverse perspectives, and we give every team member the opportunity to make an immediate impact while growing their skills. If you’re excited to work on breakthrough technology in a fast‑paced, hands‑on environment, we’d love to hear from you.

As a key contributor, you'll harness your creativity to develop innovative electronic solutions for groundbreaking quantum instruments, overseeing the entire lifecycle of these circuits, from concept through to implementation. The ideal candidate is an agile engineer who excels in a high‑paced environment, readily shifting between intricate design challenges and immediate troubleshooting needs while maintaining the highest standards of quality.

What You’ll Do

• Join forces with physicists and engineers—across electrical, mechanical, and optical domains—to bring system and schematic requirements to life through innovative electronic designs tailored for cutting‑edge quantum instruments.
• Take charge of the entire PCB process for intricate boards, encompassing high-speed digital, precision analog, mixed-signal, power, and RF sectors.
• Establish, uphold, and advocate for PCB layout standards and design rules, including stack‑ups, trace/space specifications, impedance profiles, creepage/clearance measures, and via strategies.
• Drive component selection, placement, and routing with a focus on optimizing signal integrity, power integrity, thermal efficiency, manufacturability, and ease of service.
• Collaborate closely with electrical engineers to execute controlled‑impedance routing techniques (including microstrip, stripline, and differential pairs) while effectively managing timing-critical nets.
• Place a strong emphasis on manufacturability and testability throughout the design process.
• Lead the complete PCBA design journey from initial concept through to production.
• Contribute to our manufacturing initiatives by addressing support issues, defining tests, and ensuring adherence to DFM guidelines in PCB designs.
• Continuously follow and enhance design directives and procedures.
• Have a solid understanding of DFM/DFA constraints and hands‑on experience working directly with PCB fabricators and assemblers.
• Design and develop Point-of-Load (POL) power supply circuits to effectively manage complex board-level power distribution, ensuring high efficiency while meeting stringent power sequencing requirements.
• Engage with internal teams to troubleshoot DFM/DFA challenges, enhance yield, and improve fabrication processes.
• Ensure accurate and up-to-date design data and documentation in our cloud-based PLM system, including revisions and engineering change orders (ECOs).

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field, accompanied by a minimum of six years of professional experience; alternatively, a Master’s degree with at least three years of professional experience; or equivalent experience.
• At least three years of professional experience in electrical design, specifically in the development of complex, mixed‑signal PCBA designs utilizing advanced ECAD tools, with a preference for proficiency in Altium Designer.
• Ability to work comfortably in a laboratory setting.
• To comply with the US export control laws, Vector Atomic employees must be US citizens (born or naturalized), lawful US permanent residents (green card holders), and certain categories of refugees and asylees.

Required Expertise

• Demonstrated expertise in high-density layouts, encompassing HDI, fine‑pitch BGAs, high-speed differential pairs, and mixed‑signal designs.
• Ability to define and implement controlled impedance structures (microstrip, stripline, and differential pairs), as well as strategies for signal integrity, power distribution, grounding, and EMI/EMC‑aware layout techniques.
• Proficient in designing PCBA with modern FPGAs, MCUs, mixed‑signal, and precision analog circuits, ideally with Altium Designer.
• Experience in designing POL power circuits with stringent ripple and EMI specifications.
• Skilled in utilizing a PLM system to oversee PCBA designs, including the creation of Engineering Change Orders (ECOs).
• Hands‑on experience with hardware debugging and familiarity with laboratory test equipment such as oscilloscopes, digital voltmeters, and spectrum analyzers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication abilities.

Nice‑to‑Have Expertise

• Proven hands‑on experience in designing PCBs using Altium Designer, including expertise in schematic capture, layout, library management, and fabrication file generation. Familiarity with creating design rules and implementing constraint‑driven layouts in Altium is essential.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate PCB designs with PLM/ERP systems, alongside effective management of component libraries and their lifecycle statuses.
• A background in defining, simulating, and verifying ASIC designs would be a valuable addition.
• Previous experience in low‑power design is highly regarded.
• Skilled in creating designs that comply with standards such as RoHS/CE, EMI/EMC, and UL requirements.

Benefits

• Platinum‑level family health coverage (medical, dental, vision)
• Health and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Employer 401(k) contributions
• 20 days of paid time off / 11 paid holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Stock ownership plan
• Fully stocked kitchen

Pay Range

The approximate base salary range for this position is $130,000 - $165,000 per year. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity and benefits. Please note that it is less common for candidates to be hired at the top of this range, as final compensation is determined by factors such as job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Vector Atomic is an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications from all backgrounds regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or any other classification protected by law.

Vector Atomic does not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third‑party recruiting agencies in response to job postings. No fee will be paid to third parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to our hiring managers or HR team.