Senior Hardware Design Architect

HCLTech; Sunnyvale (CA); On-site; USD 78,000 - 148,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) retirement plan

10 days paid time off

10 paid holidays

Job summary

HCLTech in Sunnyvale, CA seeks a Senior Hardware Design Architect to lead system-level electrical architecture for multi-board robotic platforms, including power, interfaces, and signal integrity. You will review partner designs, perform PCBAs design in Altium, conduct MCU/SoC trade studies, and collaborate with firmware, vendors, and test teams to bring up boards across NPIs.

Roles require 8+ years in PCBA design, expertise in high-speed interfaces, power electronics, and vendor coordination.

Qualifications

• Requires 8+ years PCBA-level circuit design experience in robotics, industrial, automotive, or consumer electronics.
• Experience reviewing designs from external engineering teams or ODMs.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to system-level electrical architecture for multi-board robotic platforms including compute, motor control, sensing, and communication subsystems.
• Review schematics from external design partners and validate component selection and design trade-offs.
• Execute electrical design for PCBAs including schematic capture, layout, and design for signal integrity, manufacturability, and testability using Altium.
• Perform MCU/SoC architecture trade studies and component selection across motor control and sensor boards.
• Design and review PCB layouts for multi-layer boards with high-speed interfaces, ensuring impedance control and EMC compliance.
• Design power distribution systems including DC-DC converters, PMIC integration, and test/debug power delivery issues.
• Collaborate with PCB fabrication vendors on stackup, DFM, and Gerber release coordination.
• Perform board bring-up, functional verification, and root-cause analysis with lab equipment.
• Partner with firmware engineers on hardware-software co-development and BSP bring-up.
• Manage design documentation including diagrams, schematics, BOMs, and test reports.

Skills

PCBA design

Altium Designer

Schematic capture

PCB layout

High-speed interfaces

Ethernet

CAN-FD

Motor control

Power electronics

Root cause analysis

Vendor management

IMU integration

Debugging

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

Job description

HCLTech is looking for a highly talented and self- motivated Senior Hardware Design Architect to join it in advancing the technological world through innovation and creativity.

Job Title: Senior Hardware Design Architect

Job ID: 126781

Position Type: Full-time

Location: Sunnyvale, CA / Onsite

Role/Responsibilities

Contribute to system-level electrical architecture (block diagrams, interface definitions, voltage domains) for multi-board robotic platforms spanning compute, motor control, sensing, and communication subsystems

Review schematics produced by external design partners (ODMs, contract engineering firms), validating component selection and design trade-offs, and flagging misalignment with the system architecture

Execute electrical design for PCBAs supporting robotic actuator and manipulation systems — including schematic capture, layout, component selection, subsystem architecture, and design for signal integrity, manufacturability, and testability. Design in Altium.

Perform MCU/SoC architecture trade studies and component selection analysis (e.g., evaluating ARM Cortex-R/M MCUs, EtherCAT port constraints, package options, peripheral availability) across motor control and sensor interface boards

Design and review PCB layouts for multi-layer boards with high-speed digital interfaces (Ethernet, GMSL, USB, MIPI CSI-2, CAN-FD), ensuring impedance control, power integrity, and EMC compliance. Perform layout for simple-to-medium boards or simple-to-medium changes on complex boards (in Altium), and coordinate with external layout houses on PCB layout execution for complex PCBs.

Design power distribution systems including DC-DC converters, LDOs, power sequencing, load switches, and protection circuits for multi-voltage robotic subsystems; debug PMIC behavior and perform root-cause analysis on power delivery issues

Collaborate with PCB fabrication vendors — stackup selection, DFM review, material trade-offs, Gerber release coordination, and alternate vendor sourcing across multiple concurrent builds

Perform board bring-up, functional verification, root cause analysis, and debug using standard lab equipment (oscilloscope, logic analyzer, multimeter, soldering/rework tools)

Partner with firmware engineers on hardware-software co-development, peripheral interface definition, and BSP bring-up

Manage design documentation including block diagrams, schematics, BOMs, design rationale, constraint files, and test reports

Support multiple boards simultaneously at different NPI stages (schematic, layout, fab, bring-up)..

• 8+ years of experience in PCBA-level circuit design for robotics, industrial, automotive, or consumer electronics
• Experience reviewing designs produced by external engineering teams or ODMs and providing technical feedback on component selection and design trade-offs
• Proficiency with Altium Designer — schematic capture and PCB layout
• Experience with subsystem architecture and high-level electrical design for multi-board embedded systems
• Hands-on board bring-up and debug experience with standard EE test equipment
• Strong experience with communication interfaces: Ethernet (100Base-T1, 1000BASE-T), USB, MIPI CSI, SPI, I2C, CAN-FD
• Experience with EtherCAT hardware architecture — daisy-chain topology, PHY selection
• Experience with power architecture design — switching regulators, LDOs, power sequencing, high-current distribution, PMIC integration
• Experience with motor driver circuits, gate drivers, or power stage design for BLDC actuators
• Experience managing PCB fabrication vendors — stackup review, DFM, material availability, and multi-vendor coordination
• Experience with signal integrity fundamentals — constraint development, impedance control, timing budget analysis
• Ability to work independently on multiple concurrent board designs at different stages with minimal supervision
• Experience with signal integrity and power integrity analysis tools (HSpice, ADS, SIwave) and package-level delay analysis using IBIS/S-parameter models
• Experience with IMU/inertial sensor integration and low-noise analog front-end design
• Experience with tactile sensor interfaces
• Experience with semiconductor vendor technical engagement for component evaluation and design support
• Experience working with contract manufacturers on DFM review and production test development
• Familiarity with functional safety hardware mechanisms (watchdogs, voltage monitors, safe-state circuits, redundancy))

Pay and Benefits

Pay Range Minimum: 78,000 per year

Pay Range Maximum: 148,000 per year

HCLTech is an equal opportunity employer, committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees regardless of race, religion, sex, color, age, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, physical disability or genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with federal, state, and/or local law. Should any applicant have concerns about discrimination in the hiring process, they should provide a detailed report of those concerns to [e-mail] for investigation.

Compensation and Benefits

A candidate’s pay within the range will depend on their work location, skills, experience, education, and other factors permitted by law. This role may also be eligible for performance-based bonuses subject to company policies. In addition, this role is eligible for the following benefits subject to company policies: medical, dental, vision, pharmacy, life, accidental death & dismemberment, and disability insurance; employee assistance program; 401(k) retirement plan; 10 days of paid time off per year (some positions are eligible for need-based leave with no designated number of leave days per year); and 10 paid holidays per year.

How You'll Grow

At HCLTech, we offer continuous opportunities for you to find your spark and grow with us. We want you to be happy and satisfied with your role and to really learn what type of work sparks your brilliance the best. Throughout your time with us, we offer transparent communication with senior-level employees, learning and career development programs at every level, and opportunities to experiment in different roles or even pivot industries. We believe that you should be in control of your career with unlimited opportunities to find the role that fits you best.