Staff SerDes Characterization Engineer, Platforms

Google; Town of Montana (WI); On-site; USD 188,000 - 274,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Google's Platforms team seeks a Staff SerDes Characterization Engineer to shape high-speed interfaces across compute and networking platforms. You will own transmitter/receiver characterization, develop RX test methodologies, and deploy advanced lab instrumentation from VNA to real-time scopes, driving automation and cross-functional collaboration.

You will work from circuit design to system manufacturing, collaborating with ASIC PHY, silicon design, and signal integrity teams, and you will

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent practical experience in EE/physics or related field.
• 6 years of experience in high-speed SerDes validation, physical layer testing, or RF/high-speed measurement.
• 3 years of transmitter/receiver characterization, JTOL testing, and high-speed BERT/AWG instrumentation.

Responsibilities

• Own transmitter and receiver characterization and compliance testing for SerDes interfaces across next-generation compute and networking platforms.
• Lead the development of advanced RX test methodologies including jitter tolerance and stressed receiver sensitivity.
• Master and deploy high-bandwidth lab instrumentation (AWGs, BERTs, oscilloscopes, VNAs).
• Collaborate with ASIC PHY, silicon design, validation, and SI teams to root-cause performance issues and optimize TX/RX equalizer and DSP parameters.
• Drive test automation to maximize coverage, repeatability, and efficiency.

Skills

High-speed SerDes validation

Physical layer testing

Transmitter/Receiver characterization

JTOL testing

BERT/AWG instrumentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

6 years of related experience

PhD in Electrical/Computer Engineering or Physics

Tools

Python for automated test execution

Job description

Staff SerDes Characterization Engineer, Platforms

Location: Sunnyvale, CA, USA

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 6 years of experience in high-speed SerDes validation, physical layer testing, or RF/high-speed measurement.
• 3 years of experience with transmitter and receiver characterization, JTOL testing, and high-speed BERT/AWG instrumentation.

Preferred qualifications:

• PhD degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Understanding of SerDes receiver architectures, clock/data recovery (CDR), and adaptive equalization algorithms.
• Demonstrated expertise in developing custom calibration routines for stressed eye test setups and high frequency fixture de-embedding.
• Strong programming skills in Python for automated test execution, statistical data processing, and yield analysis.
• Excellent technical problem solving and cross-functional communication abilities.

About the job

Our platforms team designs and builds the hardware, software, and networking technologies that power all of Google's services. In this role, you will design and build the systems that are the heart of the computing infrastructure. You will develop from the lowest levels of circuit design to system design and see those systems all the way through to manufacturing. Your work has the potential to shape the machinery that goes into our data centers affecting Google users. As a member of the team, you will manage projects in multiple areas. You will also monitor the performance of vendors working on projects and evaluate new technologies.

The AI and Infrastructure team is redefining what's possible. We empower Google customers with breakthrough capabilities and insights by delivering AI and Infrastructure at unparalleled scale, efficiency, reliability and velocity. Our customers include Googlers, Google Cloud customers, and billions of Google users worldwide.

We're the driving force behind Google's groundbreaking innovations, empowering the development of our cutting-edge AI models, delivering unparalleled computing power to global services, and providing the essential platforms that enable developers to build the future. From software to hardware our teams are shaping the future of world-leading hyperscale computing, with key teams working on the development of our TPUs, Vertex AI for Google Cloud, Google Global Networking, Data Center operations, systems research, and much more.

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

US Salary Range

$188,000 - $274,000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

• Own transmitter and receiver characterization and compliance testing for SerDes interfaces across next-generation compute and networking platforms.
• Lead the development of advanced RX test methodologies, including jitter tolerance, stressed receiver sensitivity, bit error rate, and complex inter-symbol interference channel testing. Interpret and map industry standards (IEEE 802.3, OIF-CEI) into rigorous, automated receiver test plans.
• Master and deploy high-bandwidth lab instrumentation, including high-speed arbitrary waveform generators, bit error rate testers, real-time oscilloscopes, and vector network analyzers.
• Collaborate closely with ASIC PHY design, silicon design and validation, and signal integrity teams to root-cause link performance anomalies and optimize TX and RX equalizer and DSP parameters.
• Drive test automation development to maximize test coverage, measurement repeatability, and characterization efficiency.

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Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents-to-be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See also Google's EEO Policy, Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal, Belonging at Google, and How we hire.

If you have a need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form.

Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.

Equity is granted exclusively and discretionarily by Alphabet Inc. on the basis of an agreement concluded between you and Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is your sole contractual partner with respect to equity grants. GSU grants are not guaranteed, are discretionary, are subject to approval by the Alphabet Inc. board of directors or its delegate, the terms of the relevant Alphabet Inc. stock plan, and your grant agreement. They have no impact on statutory payments. Current or past grants do not confer an acquired right.

Locations

Sunnyvale, CA, USA

Experience Level

Advanced - Experience owning outcomes and decision making, solving ambiguous problems and influencing stakeholders; deep expertise in domain.