Principal Product Definition Engineer

Job Title

Principal Product Definition Engineer

Role Summary

Define technical requirements, performance targets, and features for next-generation high-speed analog and mixed-signal optical IC products. Act as the technical bridge between product management, engineering teams, customers, and optical component partners.

Lead ecosystem engagement, standards participation, and customer technical evangelism to ensure product compatibility, roadmap alignment, and successful NPI.

Experience Level

Senior — typically requires 8+ years of progressive hands-on technical experience.

Responsibilities

Primary responsibilities include product definition, ecosystem engagement, standards work, and customer-facing technical leadership.

• Define IC-level specifications and detailed product requirements based on system and interconnect needs; produce and iterate product requirements documents.
• Collaborate with analog, digital, mechanical engineering and product management to evaluate trade-offs and feasibility throughout development and NPI.
• Perform optical link analysis and simulation to inform parameter targets and design trade-offs.
• Drive technical engagement with PIC, laser, photodiode, host silicon, module, and system vendors to ensure interoperability and roadmap alignment.
• Serve as subject-matter expert to customer engineering teams; communicate product performance and technical value proposition.
• Lead participation in industry standards bodies and MSA groups and translate standards activity into product and NPI guidance.
• Represent the company at industry conferences and customer events; present technical papers or talks as appropriate.
• Travel periodically (minimum once per quarter) for customer visits, conferences, and partner site visits.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills, experience, and behaviors for successful performance in this role.

• Must-have: 8+ years of progressive hands-on technical experience in high-speed analog and mixed-signal circuit design and validation, optical components/transceivers, and/or physical-layer networking.
• Deep expertise in signal integrity, equalization techniques, optical link budgets, and analog/mixed-signal system requirements for high-speed communications; familiarity with IC layout concepts, device models, and parasitic effects.
• Proven experience engaging with optical component vendors (PIC, photodiode, module suppliers) in design, integration, co-development, or ecosystem partnership roles.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with close attention to detail.
• Effective verbal and written communication; able to engage credibly with IC design engineers, customer technical teams, and industry peers.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across cross-functional and global teams and to influence without direct authority; self-starter able to operate with partial data.
• Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally on a quarterly basis or as business needs require.

• Nice-to-have: direct IC development experience for high-speed communications systems; hands-on experience with active optical components and transceivers; familiarity with circuit and system modeling/simulation tools (e.g., ADS, HFSS, MATLAB).
• Experience participating in standards activities (e.g., IEEE 802.3, OIF, MSAs); knowledge of analog building blocks, semiconductor/optical packaging, manufacturing processes, and common lab equipment (spectrum analyzers, VNAs, oscilloscopes).

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optical Engineering, or a related technical field is required. An advanced degree (MSc, MEng, PhD) in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Optical Engineering, or a related discipline is listed as desirable.

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.