Senior Principal AE-RF Design Engineer

Cadence; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Cadence is hiring a seasoned Millimeter-Wave IC designer to lead high-frequency transceiver projects for 5G/6G, aerospace radar, and automotive sensors. You will own the design blocks (PA, LNA, mixer, VCO) and drive parasitic extraction, thermal management, and RF modeling across the full lifecycle, collaborating with customers and cross-functional teams.

The ideal candidate brings 10+ years in RF IC design, deep experience with RF PLLs, phase noise, and RF system architectures, and holds an

Qualifications

• 10+ years of industrial experience taking designs from conception through tape-out to final lab validation.
• Proven expertise in RF transceiver architectures and high-frequency design.

Responsibilities

• Drive full product lifecycle for mmWave ICs and transceivers.
• Tackle parasitic extraction, thermal management, and high-frequency electromagnetic modeling.
• Engage with customers at a fast pace on state-of-the-art designs.

Skills

PA design

LNA design

Mixer design

VCO design

RF transceiver architecture

Phase noise analysis

EM modeling

System-level RF design

Education

M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Cadence Virtuoso

EMX

Clarity

VSS

Pegasus

Job description

At Cadence, we hire and develop leaders and innovators who want to make an impact on the world of technology. Experienced Millimeter-Wave (mmWave) IC designer specialize in engineering high-frequency (30 GHz+) transceivers and components for 5G/6G communications, aerospace radar, and automotive sensors. Will drive the full product lifecycle, tackling challenges like parasitic extraction, thermal management, and high-frequency electromagnetic modeling. High level of customer engagement at a fast pace on state of the art design. Requires a deep, specialized skill set:

• Building Blocks: Deep expertise in designing custom blocks such as Power Amplifiers (PAs), Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs), mixers, and Voltage-Controlled Oscillators (VCOs).
• RF Subsystem: Deep expertise in designing Tx and Rx signal chains for noise, figure, linearity dynamic range and power efficiency. Deep experience in RF PLL design including Sigma delta, FRAC-N PLL. Phase noise and spurious signal, settling time. Experience with PLL building blocks such as PFD, charge pumps, dividers, multipliers.
• Architecture: Proficiency in RF transceiver architectures, direct-conversion topologies, and phased-array systems. Signal chain analysis and system figures of merit such as ACPR, EVM and BER.
• Process Technologies: Hands-on experience on advanced nodes using RF SOI process and deep knowledge of the required trade offs.
• Software Tools: Mastery of standard EDA software environments, including: System Simulation: VSS - Schematic & Simulation: Cadence Virtuoso and VRF flows Electromagnetic (EM) Simulation: EMX, and Clarity Layout & Verification: Layout MXL, QRC and Pegasus Education: Usually an M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (or a closely related discipline).
• Education: Usually an M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (or a closely related discipline).
• Experience: 10+ years of industrial experience taking designs from conception through tape-out to final lab validation.
• Validation: Extensive lab characterization experience utilizing high-frequency equipment like spectrum analyzers, VNAs, and probe stations.

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