Principal Electrical Engineer

Job Title

Principal Electrical Engineer

Role Summary

Work on force-sensing product integration with mechanical, electrical and software teams to deliver evaluation kits, modules and customer solutions for consumer, automotive and industrial devices. The role owns board-level design, evaluation, debug and vendor management and supports products through prototype to mass production.

Position is based in San Jose, CA with a hybrid schedule (four days in office, Friday remote) and requires occasional international travel to support OEMs.

Experience Level

Senior-level. 8+ years of relevant professional experience in electronic design from proof-of-concept through mass production.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include:

• Lead schematic capture, PCB layout, Gerber generation, BOM creation, fabrication notes and design reviews.
• Source components, evaluate suppliers, and manage PCB/module vendors to meet electrical, mechanical, cost and reliability targets.
• Perform board- and system-level bring-up, characterization, debugging and failure analysis on prototypes and modules.
• Develop proof-of-concept demos and evaluation kits; support R&D test and evaluation board design and fabrication.
• Integrate hardware with firmware and digital interfaces; validate embedded system behavior with customers.
• Prepare technical documentation: datasheets, application notes, integration guides and root-cause reports; deliver product training.
• Collect customer feedback, liaise with R&D and marketing to drive product improvements and roadmap decisions.
• Stay current with industry trends in consumer electronics and related markets.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience:

• Proficiency with PCB schematic/layout tools (Altium, Cadence, or Siemens) and experience with multiple fabricated boards.
• Hands-on analog and mixed-signal circuit design and hardware bring-up using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers and multimeters.
• Experience with ADCs, sensors, embedded system design and firmware development.
• Familiarity with digital communication interfaces (I2C, SPI, UART or similar) for complex embedded integrations.
• Experience developing or modifying firmware/software in C/C++ or Python to support hardware debugging and validation.
• Experience preparing technical documentation (datasheets, application notes, PCB guidelines, integration guides).
• Strong communication, presentation, time management skills and a customer-centric, detail-oriented work style.
• Willingness to travel internationally and domestically (up to ~10%).

Nice-to-have:

• Algorithm development, semiconductor or automotive industry experience.
• Familiarity with AI/ML tools and workflows.

Education Requirements

Bachelor's or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science or a related technical field is required. The posting also specifies 8+ years of relevant professional experience in electronic design.

About the Company

Company: Semtech

Headquarters: Camarillo, California, USA

Semtech Corporation is a high-performance semiconductor company providing IoT systems and Cloud connectivity solutions. The company focuses on delivering innovative technology solutions that support a smarter, more connected, and sustainable planet, with a dedication to quality across infrastructure, industrial, and consumer markets.