Staff Electrical Engineer

Ouster; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 154,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Ouster, a leader in LIDAR sensors, seeks a senior hardware leader to drive system architecture and bring designs from concept to volume production.

You will lead hardware development for high-integrated assemblies, ensure performance under size, weight, and power constraints, and coordinate with firmware and manufacturing to deliver world-class sensor systems. A strong background in embedded SoCs and HDI PCB design is required.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in designing, testing, and delivering complex electrical designs.
• Expert knowledge of analog and digital circuits.
• Experience architecting embedded SoC systems (DSP+ARM or FPGA+ARM) with Ethernet, CAN, I2C, SPI, USB.
• Proficient with Altium and HDI PCB design for series production.
• Able to manage multiple projects across lifecycle and document requirements thoroughly.

Responsibilities

• Lead hardware development for LIDAR hardware, drive system architecture from concept to production.
• Break ground in design and validation under size, weight, power, and functionality constraints.
• Own the hardware lifecycle from requirements to bring-up and high-volume production.
• Identify and solve complex hardware failures with root-cause analysis.
• Collaborate across hardware, firmware, and manufacturing teams to deliver integrated sensor systems.

Skills

Embedded SoC design

HDI PCB design

Altium CAD

Ethernet/CAN/I2C/SPI/USB

Analog & digital circuits

Project leadership

Tools

HDI anylayer

Rigid-flex PCBs

Multi-layer PCB fabrication

Job description

At Ouster, we design and manufacture LIDAR sensors for precision mapping, robotics, automotive, security systems, smart cities and various industrial solutions. We've transformed LIDAR from an analog device with thousands of components to an elegant digital device powered by one chip-scale laser array and one CMOS sensor. The result is a full range of high-resolution LIDAR sensors that deliver superior imaging at a dramatically lower price. If you're motivated by solving big problems, we're hiring key roles across the company and need your help!

In this role you will

• Lead the hardware development for LIDAR innovation, drive the electrical system architecture, and execute on designs from concept to volume production
• Break new grounds in design and validation against constraints in size, weight, power, and functionality at the system and subsystem level.
• Drive the entire hardware lifecycle from requirements definition and schematic capture to layout completion, bring-up, validation and into high volume production.
• Identify and solve complex hardware failures and lead root-cause analysis on complex electrical issues
• Collaborate across hardware, firmware, and manufacturing teams to deliver integrated, world-class sensor systems.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience designing, testing, and delivering complex and highly integrated electrical designs.
• Deep knowledge of modern analog and digital circuits
• Track record of architecting and delivering embedded SoC (DSP + ARM, or FPGA + ARM) systems, with deep knowledge of Ethernet, CAN, I2C, SPI, and USB.
• Expert-level with Altium (or similar), with specific, deep personal experience in HDI anylayer, rigid-flex, and high-density multi-layer PCBs taken to series production.
• Demonstrated ability to concurrently champion multiple projects at varying lifecycle stages.
• A commitment to developing clear documentation for design requirements, specifications, and test coverage to guarantee long-term reliability.

Bonus Qualifications

• Familiarity with board-level integration of custom analog ASICs or photonics-related electronics.
• Proficiency with scripting languages like Python for automated test and data analysis.
• Experience with high-volume production, including direct collaboration with overseas contract manufacturers.
• Experience with Functional Safety standards (ISO 26262 or similar) and rigorous validation frameworks.

A Note on Experience:

• We acknowledge the confidence gap at Ouster. You do not need to meet all of these requirements to be the ideal candidate for this role. We encourage you to apply if you believe you have the skills and passion to succeed.

The base pay will be dependent on your skills, work experience, location, and qualifications. This role may also be eligible for equity & benefits. ($154,000-$230,000)

Ouster is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer that pursues and hires a diverse workforce. Ouster does not make employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, nationality, sex, gender, gender-identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, military status, or any other basis protected by local, state, or federal laws. Ouster also strives for a healthy and safe workplace, and prohibits harassment of any kind. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Ouster considers qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.