Senior PCB Design Lead for Space Hardware

Viasat; Tempe (AZ); On-site; USD 135,000 - 214,000; Full time

Job summary

Viasat is seeking a Principal PCB Designer to provide senior technical leadership for complex printed circuit boards across the Space Infrastructure organization. You will guide layout quality, strategies, and execution while leading a team, including scheduling and performance reviews.

The role involves aviation-grade discipline, working with flight hardware, ground systems, and test boards, using Mentor Xpedition (CES) tools, and ensuring DFx compliance.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional PCB layout experience with ownership of highly complex designs.
• Expert understanding of signal integrity, power integrity, EMI and EMC, high speed digital, RF, and power electronics layout.
• 5+ years using Mentor Xpedition and CES.
• Management experience leading a technical team.
• Schematic capture experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical reviews and influencing cross functional engineering teams.
• Strong experience producing and reviewing complete fabrication and assembly release packages.
• Ability to operate independently as a technical authority and define solutions to complex problems.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• US Citizenship required.
• Ability to travel up to 10%.

Responsibilities

• Provide senior level PCB design leadership across multiple programs and product lines.
• Schedule and prioritize work for direct reports and make task assignments.
• Produce PCB layouts utilizing Mentor Graphics Xpedition.
• Lead PCB layout for the most complex and critical designs, including multilayer, high speed, RF, and power dense boards.
• Define component placement strategies, routing architecture, constraint sets, and layer stackups with minimal direction.
• Own PCB layout execution from early architectural trade studies through fabrication and assembly release.
• Provide expert input on signal integrity, power integrity, EMI and EMC risk mitigation, and layout tradeoffs.
• Serve as the technical escalation point for complex layout challenges, design issues, yield concerns, and corrective actions.
• Lead and participate in schematic, placement, routing, and release design reviews across programs.
• Define, maintain, and improve PCB design standards, constraints, and workflows.
• Improve design quality, consistency, and execution speed across the PCB team.
• Provide architecture level feedback to electrical, RF, mechanical, manufacturing, thermal, and test engineers.
• Work directly with fabrication and assembly partners to address advanced technology, manufacturability, and yield.
• Mentor junior and senior PCB designers through hands on guidance, reviews, and technical coaching.
• Support prototype build, debug, and iteration efforts in collaboration with hardware and test teams.
• Drive low-cost approaches and practices in PCB design.

Skills

PCB design leadership

signal integrity

power integrity

EMI/EMC risk mitigation

schematic capture

technical reviews

fabrication & assembly release

independent technical authority

cross-functional communication

cost reduction / manufacturability

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering Technology or equivalent

Bachelor's degree in any engineering discipline

Tools

Mentor Xpedition

CES

Job description

Viasat is seeking a Principal PCB Designer to provide senior technical leadership for complex printed circuit boards across the Space Infrastructure organization. You will guide layout quality, strategies, and execution while leading a team, including scheduling and performance reviews.

The role involves aviation-grade discipline, working with flight hardware, ground systems, and test boards, using Mentor Xpedition (CES) tools, and ensuring DFx compliance.