Staff Hardware Engineer, Electrical, XR Hardware

Socket.dev; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 188,000 - 274,000; Full time

Job summary

Google's XR Hardware Engineering team is seeking a Staff Hardware Electrical Engineer to define electrical architecture for cutting-edge XR devices from concept to mass production. You will lead cross-functional alignment across Silicon, Product Design (Mechanical), Display/Optics, Firmware, and System Integration teams.

You will operate with technical autonomy, resolving ambiguity, architect subsystem interconnects, and mentor junior engineers to ensure robust hardware design reviews and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in a technical field.
• Experience leading hardware design projects and architecture decisions.

Responsibilities

• Define system-level electrical architecture and PCB stackups for compact XR devices.
• Design and optimize power distribution networks and high-speed interfaces to meet power, thermal, and SI/PI limits.
• Integrate silicon, display optics drivers, camera/sensor suites, and wireless coexistence.
• Lead board bring-up, lab characterization, and hardware debugging across prototype builds.
• Mentor junior engineers and establish hardware design review processes.

Skills

Technical leadership

Hardware development

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, a related field, or equivalent practical experience

Tools

HDI PCB design tools

Job description

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 6 years of experience working in an electrical hardware development or consumer electronics environment.
• 3 years of experience in technical leadership, managing architecture decisions, and leading hardware design projects.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience integrating spatial sensing pipelines (time-of-flight, global shutter cameras, eye-tracking) and display modules.
• Expertise in rigid-flex and HDI PCB layout, impedance control, EMC or EMI mitigation, and RF coexistence.
• Deep understanding of thermal management, battery life optimization, and ultra-miniaturized form-factor design.
• Demonstrated capability to align cross-functional priorities across Silicon architects, Mechanical/Optical engineers, and Firmware developers.
• Proven track record delivering high-volume, compact consumer electronics, smart wearables, AI glasses, or AR/VR headsets to mass production.

About the job:

The XR Hardware Engineering organization builds hardware platforms enabling spatial computing, augmented reality (AR) glasses, and virtual/mixed reality headsets. We solve complex multi-physics and electro-mechanical issues to deliver lightweight, wearable consumer devices that seamlessly integrate spatial audio, display optics, eye/head tracking, high-performance silicon, and wireless connectivity.

As a Staff Hardware Electrical Engineer, you will define and drive the electrical architecture for cutting-edge XR hardware products from early concepts through mass production. You will lead cross-functional technical alignment across Silicon, Product Design (Mechanical), Display/Optics, Firmware, and System Integration teams.

You will operate with technical autonomy, resolving ambiguity, architect subsystem interconnects, setting engineering standards, and mentoring junior and mid-level engineers.

For decades, the computing revolution has reshaped our world driven by breakthroughs in compute, connectivity, mobile, and now, AI. Google's XR team is at the forefront of the next major leap – the convergence of AI and XR. This is more than just new devices – it's about reimagining how we interact with the world around us. We're building a future where lightweight XR devices like smart glasses and headsets pair with helpful AI to augment human intelligence, offering personalized, conversational, and contextually aware experiences.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $188000 - $274000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities:

• Define system-level electrical architecture, block diagrams, component selection, schematics, and HDI/rigid-flex PCB stackups for compact, battery-powered XR devices.
• Design and optimize power distribution networks (PMICs, DC-DC converters, battery management) and high-speed interfaces (MIPI CSI/DSI, PCIe, USB-C, LPDDR) to meet strict power, thermal, and signal/power integrity (SI/PI) limits.
• Integrate custom and commercial silicon, display optics drivers (micro-OLED/MicroLED), camera/sensor suites (IMUs, eye-tracking, environment perception), and wireless coexistence (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB).
• Lead board bring-up, lab characterization, failure analysis, and hardware debugging across prototype builds (EVT, DVT, PVT) using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and RF test equipment.
• Guide junior engineers, author comprehensive design specifications and test plans, and establish robust hardware design review processes across the organization.