Senior Staff / Principal Engineer – SerDes Analog/Mixed-Signal Design

Upscale; Kentucky; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Upscale, Inc. is hiring an experienced analog/mixed-signal design engineer to lead high-speed SerDes development and IP blocks for AI workloads in Kentucky. You will translate system specs into circuit architectures, optimize performance, and drive design closure through silicon bring-up and characterization.

Ideal candidates have MS/PhD in EE with 100G+ experience, strong modeling skills in SPICE and modern tools, and proven ability to mentor engineers and collaborate across teams.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• Significant industry experience in analog/mixed-signal IC design (100G+).
• Proven transistor-level design, simulation, and performance optimization experience.
• Experience taking complex circuit blocks through implementation, verification, and design closure.

Responsibilities

• Own design and development of complex analog/mixed-signal circuits for high-speed SerDes and foundation IP.
• Translate system-level specifications into circuit architectures, design strategies, and measurable targets.
• Evaluate architectural alternatives and optimize performance, power, area, noise, linearity, bandwidth, and robustness.
• Lead transistor-level design, behavioral modeling, simulation, verification, and post-layout performance closure.
• Drive technical reviews, communicate trade-offs, and provide guidance to other engineers.
• Support silicon bring-up, characterization, correlation against simulations, and root-cause analysis of performance issues.

Skills

Analog/mixed-signal design

High-speed SerDes

Technical communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

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

Tools

Spectre/SPICE

HSPICE

Python

MATLAB

Job description

Why join Upscale, Inc.

Upscale, Inc., is building the high-performance infrastructure powering the next generation of artificial intelligence. Backed by over $500M in funding and rapid global adoption, we are scaling systems designed for the world’s most demanding AI workloads.

Upscale, Inc., is building the high-performance infrastructure powering the next generation of artificial intelligence. Backed by over $500M in funding and rapid global adoption, we are scaling systems designed for the world’s most demanding AI workloads. We focus on first-principles engineering across silicon, systems, and networking—where performance, scale, and execution are critical. Our team is talent-dense and high-performing. We value ownership, technical rigor, and speed, and we offer the opportunity to work on foundational problems with immediate, real-world impact. If you’re looking to do high-impact work, move fast, and help define the infrastructure behind the future of AI—Upscale is where you can produce meaningful work at the frontier—and operate at a high standard.

About The Role

Upscale AI is building advanced SerDes technology to address the rapidly increasing bandwidth and energy-efficiency demands of AI data centers. We are seeking experienced analog and mixed-signal design engineers to lead the development of critical circuit blocks and contribute to the design of next-generation high-speed connectivity solutions.

Responsibilities

• Own the design and development of complex analog/mixed-signal circuits for high-speed SerDes and foundation IP.
• Translate system-level specifications into circuit architectures, design strategies, and measurable implementation targets.
• Evaluate architectural alternatives and optimize performance, power, area, noise, linearity, bandwidth, and robustness as applicable.
• Lead transistor-level design, behavioral modeling, simulation, verification, and post-layout performance closure.
• Drive technical reviews, communicate design trade-offs, and provide technical guidance to other engineers.
• Support silicon bring-up, characterization, correlation against simulations, and root-cause analysis of performance issues.

Qualifications

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• Significant industry experience in analog/mixed-signal IC design, 100G+ high-speed circuit design, or related semiconductor development.
• Demonstrated expertise in transistor-level circuit design, simulation, and performance optimization.
• Experience taking complex circuit blocks through implementation, verification, and design closure.
• Strong understanding of circuit-level trade-offs and the ability to connect circuit performance to system-level requirements.
• Proficiency with industry-standard circuit simulators and design tools.
• Strong technical communication, problem-solving, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Proven experience in 100G+ high-speed SerDes or other demanding analog/mixed-signal IC development.
• Experience in advanced-node CMOS technologies and associated challenges in parasitics, variability, power, and signal integrity.
• Proven success in one or more of the following technical areas:
• Fractional-N PLL, LC-VCO, DTC/TDC, multi-modulus divider (MMD).
• Phase interpolator, injection-locked oscillator, multi-phase clock generator.
• High-speed time-interleaved DAC and line driver.
• Transimpedance amplifier, CTLE, PGA, Cherry-Hooper amplifier, high-speed voltage followers.
• Time-interleaved SAR ADC, track-and-hold circuits.
• Bandgap, PTAT, LDO, temperature sensor, charge pump, auto-zero comparator, R2R DAC.
• Experience with post-layout analysis, silicon characterization, and silicon-to-simulation correlation.
• Track record of independently driving complex technical tasks to successful completion.
• Experience mentoring engineers, reviewing designs, and establishing effective design practices.
• Familiarity with Python, MATLAB, or other tools for modeling, automation, and optimization.

We are looking for engineers who combine strong circuit-design fundamentals with independent technical judgment and a track record of delivering robust silicon.

Where you fall within that range depends on your experience, skills, and impact—we benchmark against internal levels to keep things fair and consistent.

Equal Opportunity

Upscale, Inc., is building a team that reflects a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. We’re proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status.

Accessibility & Accommodations

We’re committed to making our hiring process accessible to everyone. If you need accommodations at any stage, just reach out to us at [e-mail]—we’re happy to help. Note: This inbox is only for accommodation requests. We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.