Senior PCB Designer – High-Speed RF & FPGA Hardware

GCS Recruitment; Kent (WA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

GCS Recruitment is seeking an experienced PCB Designer to support the development of advanced phased-array communication systems. This role covers design, layout, bring-up, testing, and debugging of complex electronic hardware across the full product lifecycle.

The candidate will work with high-speed digital, mixed-signal, FPGA, and RF hardware, collaborating with electrical, RF, mechanical, and test engineering teams to ensure reliability in high-reliability environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering required.
• 8+ years designing complex electronic hardware and PCBs.
• Experience with schematic capture and PCB layout ownership.
• Proven ability to bring up and debug hardware in a lab environment.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop complex multilayer PCBs for advanced communication and phased-array systems.
• Own PCB designs from schematic capture through layout, fabrication support, bring-up, validation, and debug.
• Select components and create robust designs meeting electrical, thermal, mechanical, and reliability requirements.
• Develop hardware around high-performance processors, FPGAs, custom silicon, converters, and high-speed interfaces.
• Conduct board bring-up, hardware integration, validation, and root-cause analysis in a lab environment.

Skills

High-speed digital design

Signal integrity

Root-cause analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Schematic capture

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Industry-standard PCB design tools

Schematic capture tools

Job description

Overview

We are seeking an experienced PCB Designer to support the development of advanced phased-array communication systems used in high-reliability environments. This role involves the design, layout, integration, bring-up, testing, and debugging of complex electronic hardware that drives next-generation antenna systems. The successful candidate will work on sophisticated mixed-signal, digital, FPGA, and RF-based hardware across the full product development lifecycle, from concept through laboratory validation and product refinement.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and develop complex multilayer printed circuit boards (PCBs) for advanced communication and phased-array systems.
• Own PCB designs from schematic capture through layout, fabrication support, bring-up, validation, and debug.
• Select components and create robust designs that meet electrical, thermal, mechanical, and reliability requirements.
• Develop hardware around high-performance processors, FPGAs, custom silicon, converters, and high-speed digital interfaces.
• Perform PCB layout activities including stack-up definition, routing strategies, signal integrity considerations, power distribution, and manufacturability reviews.
• Conduct board bring-up, hardware integration, validation, and root-cause analysis in a laboratory environment.
• Debug hardware issues using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, and other test equipment.
• Analyze failures and performance issues on prototype and production hardware and implement corrective design improvements.
• Support multiple product generations by validating released hardware while contributing to next-generation designs.
• Collaborate with electrical, FPGA, RF, mechanical, manufacturing, reliability, and test engineering teams throughout product development.
• Evaluate hardware performance across environmental conditions including temperature extremes, vibration, and other high-reliability operating environments.
• Participate in component selection reviews with consideration for reliability, radiation tolerance, lifecycle, and long-term availability requirements.
• Document design decisions, validation results, debug findings, and engineering recommendations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline.
• 8+ years of experience designing complex electronic hardware and PCBs.
• Strong experience with schematic capture, component selection, and PCB layout ownership.
• Proven experience designing and supporting complex multilayer circuit boards.
• Hands-on experience bringing up and debugging hardware in a laboratory environment.
• Strong understanding of high-speed digital design principles and signal integrity.
• Experience with interfaces such as PCIe, DDR, JESD204, SerDes, Ethernet, or comparable high-speed architectures.
• Proficiency with industry-standard PCB design and schematic capture tools.
• Ability to perform root-cause analysis and resolve complex hardware issues.
• Experience working closely with cross-functional engineering teams throughout the hardware development lifecycle.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing hardware for aerospace, space, defense, satellite, or other high-reliability applications.
• Knowledge of radiation-tolerant or space-grade electronic design practices.
• Familiarity with component derating, worst-case analysis, and reliability engineering principles.
• Experience designing mixed-signal, FPGA, microwave, or RF hardware systems.
• Familiarity with environmental qualification testing, including thermal and vibration testing.
• Experience supporting products through multiple design iterations and product releases.

Key Technical Areas

• Complex PCB Design
• High-Speed Digital Electronics
• Mixed-Signal Hardware
• FPGA-Based Systems
• Hardware Bring-Up & Debug
• Signal Integrity
• Power Distribution Design
• Reliability Engineering
• Environmental Qualification
• Laboratory Validation & Testing

GCS is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.