Systems Engineer

Cohu, Inc.; San Diego, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 114,000 - 142,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision insurance

401(k) with company matching

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Tuition assistance

Disability & life insurance

Profit Sharing

Job summary

Cohu, Inc. in San Diego seeks a systems engineering leader to translate complex customer and market needs into robust mechatronic architectures.

You will drive module-level innovation by merging mechanical, electrical, thermal, and software perspectives and guide teams through structured decision-making under uncertainty. You will oversee requirement analysis, design reviews, and risk assessments, ensuring cross-subsystem compatibility and timely program delivery for demonstrations and ship

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechatronics, mechanical, or electrical engineering with advanced degrees preferred.
• Minimum 3 years in system-level leadership of complex mechatronic developments.
• Experience in semiconductor backend equipment is desirable.
• Experience with cross-discipline leadership and design reviews.

Responsibilities

• Lead system-level requirement analysis and author specifications for robotic, electro-mechanical modules.
• Evaluate concepts with domain experts using functional, economic, and risk criteria.
• Ensure interface compatibility across subsystems and maintain architectural integrity.
• Guide subsystem concepts with analytical modeling and simulations.
• Facilitate design reviews and align progress with system objectives.
• Drive risk assessments and pre-development activities.
• Ensure compliance with certification requirements (CE, SEMI, RoHS) and documentation.
• Support patent applications and protect intellectual property from innovations.
• Present solutions and resolve system issues with customers and stakeholders.
• Design detailed parts and assemblies as part of the system plan.

Skills

System-level leadership

Cross-disciplinary engineering

Thermal systems understanding

Motion control

Sensor integration

Machine intelligence

Requirement engineering

Risk management

Documentation and knowledge transfer

English communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in mechatronics, mechanical engineering, or electrical engineering

MSc, MEng preferred

Tools

SolidWorks

Altium

Job description

MAIN OBJECTIVES

• Translate complex customer and market requirements into robust system concepts that balance performance, reliability, usability, and cost of ownership.


• Drive module-level innovation by integrating mechanical, electrical, thermal, and software domains into cohesive multi-discipline design.


• Moderate cross-functional concept development workshops and guide teams through structured decision-making under uncertainty.


• Evaluate feasibility and risk of new concepts using first-principles physics and empirical modeling.


• Ensure system-level traceability from requirements to implementation and maintain architectural integrity throughout the development lifecycle.


• Drive development schedules of module and platform development projects aligned to overall program and project dates to meet committed demonstration and ship dates.


• Design detailed parts and assemblies as part of the overall system architecture/plan.

2. RESPONSIBILITIES

• Conduct system-level requirement analysis and author technical specifications and design briefs for robotic, automated, electro-mechanical sub-assembly modules.


• Lead the evaluation and selection of technical concepts in collaboration with domain experts, based on functional, economic, and risk criteria.


• Ensure architectural consistency and interface compatibility across subsystems and modules.


• Guide the development of subsystem concepts and validate their feasibility through analytical modeling and simulation.


• Facilitate design reviews and ensure that development progress aligns with system-level objectives.


• Drive risk assessments and initiate necessary pre-development or technology validation activities.


• Ensure compliance with certification requirements (e.g., CE, SEMI, RoHS) and support the preparation of documentation.


• Support patent applications and the protection of intellectual property arising from system innovations.


• Present technical solutions and resolve system-level issues in collaboration with customers and stakeholders.


• Design detailed parts and assemblies as part of the overall system architecture/plan.

3. ESSENTIAL QUALITY EXPECTATIONS

• Strategic and systems-level thinking with the ability to balance technical depth and cross-domain integration.


• Strong analytical skills and the ability to make sound decisions under ambiguity using physical principles and engineering judgment.


• Excellent communication and moderation skills to lead interdisciplinary teams through complex trade-offs.


• Proactive mindset for identifying innovation opportunities and system improvements.


• Commitment to technical excellence, documentation, and knowledge transfer.


• Customer-oriented thinking and ability to represent the company in technical discussions.

AUTHORITY

• Lead module level development for TH team under the Director of Engineering

5. REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in mechatronics, mechanical engineering, or electrical engineering. (MSc, MEng, etc. desired)


• Minimum of 3 years of experience in the system level leadership of the development of complex mechatronic systems, ideally in semiconductor backend equipment.


• Minimum of 3 years as a direct engineer in a discipline.


• Proven track record in system engineering, machine concept development, and cross-discipline electro-mechanical engineering leadership.


• Understanding and/or working experience with thermal systems, motion control, sensor integration, and machine intelligence.


• Experience with requirement engineering, risk management, and certification processes.


• Fluent in Solidworks detailed design and modeling, or other design tools such as Altium, if relevant to education and experience.


• Excellent English communication skills: German and/or French is a plus.


• Willingness to travel internationally up to 20%.

Compensation: The estimated base pay range for this position is $114,000-142,000 per year, depending on qualifications, experience, education, and other job-related factors. This range represents Cohu’s good faith estimate of what it reasonably expects to pay for this role upon hire. This role may also be eligible for other compensation programs as determined by company policy.

Featured benefits

• Medical, dental & vision insurance


• 401(k) with company matching contributions


• Employee Stock Purchase Plan


• Tuition assistance


• Disability & life insurance


• Profit Sharing