Senior Electrical Engineer - Robotics Hardware San Hose - CA - California

Job Summary

Senior Electrical Engineer contractor to support robotics hardware development within robotics Group. You will contribute to system-level electrical architecture across multi-board robotic platforms, execute board designs from schematic through bring-up, and provide technical review of external design partners schematic and layout work as directed by FTE engineers. You will perform design trade-off analysis MCUSoC selection, interface topology, power architecture, and sensor integration across multiple concurrent projects, working with minimal supervision alongside a small, fast-moving hardware team.

Key Responsibilities

Contribute to system-level electrical architecture (block diagrams, interface definitions, voltage domains) for multi-board robotic platforms spanning compute, motor control, sensing, and communication subsystems

Review schematics produced by external design partners (ODMs, contract engineering firms), validating component selection and design trade-offs, and flagging misalignment with the system architecture

Execute electrical design for PCBAs supporting robotic actuator and manipulation systems including schematic capture, layout, component selection, subsystem architecture, and design for signal integrity, manufacturability, and testability. Design in Altium.

Perform MCUSoC architecture trade studies and component selection analysis (e.g., evaluating ARM Cortex-RM MCUs, EtherCAT port constraints, package options, peripheral availability) across motor control and sensor interface boards

Design and review PCB layouts for multi-layer boards with high-speed digital interfaces (Ethernet, GMSL, USB, MIPI CSI-2, CAN-FD), ensuring impedance control, power integrity, and EMC compliance. Perform layout for simple-to-medium boards or simple-to-medium changes on complex boards (in Altium), and coordinate with external layout houses on PCB layout execution for complex PCBs.

Design power distribution systems including DC-DC converters, LDOs, power sequencing, load switches, and protection circuits for multi-voltage robotic subsystems debug PMIC behavior and perform root-cause analysis on power delivery issues

Collaborate with PCB fabrication vendors stackup selection, DFM review, material trade-offs, Gerber release coordination, and alternate vendor sourcing across multiple concurrent builds

Perform board bring-up, functional verification, root cause analysis, and debug using standard lab equipment (oscilloscope, logic analyzer, multimeter, solderingrework tools)

Partner with firmware engineers on hardware-software co-development, peripheral interface definition, and BSP bring-up

Manage design documentation including block diagrams, schematics, BOMs, design rationale, constraint files, and test reports

Support multiple boards simultaneously at different NPI stages (schematic, layout, fab, bring-up)

Skill Requirements

8+ years of experience in PCBA-level circuit design for robotics, industrial, automotive, or consumer electronics

Experience reviewing designs produced by external engineering teams or ODMs and providing technical feedback on component selection and design trade-offs

Proficiency with Altium Designer schematic capture and PCB layout

Experience with subsystem architecture and high-level electrical design for multi-board embedded systems

Hands-on board bring-up and debug experience with standard EE test equipment

Strong experience with communication interfaces: Ethernet (100Base-T1, 1000BASE-T), USB, MIPI CSI, SPI, I2C, CAN-FD

Experience with EtherCAT hardware architecture daisy-chain topology, PHY selection

Experience with power architecture design switching regulators, LDOs, power sequencing, high-current distribution, PMIC integration

Experience with motor driver circuits, gate drivers, or power stage design for BLDC actuators

Experience managing PCB fabrication vendors stackup review, DFM, material availability, and multi-vendor coordination

Experience with signal integrity fundamentals constraint development, impedance control, timing budget analysis

Ability to work independently on multiple concurrent board designs at different stages with minimal supervision

Other Requirements

Experience with signal integrity and power integrity analysis tools (HSpice, ADS, SIwave) and package-level delay analysis using IBISS-parameter models

Experience with IMUinertial sensor integration and low-noise analog front-end design

Experience with tactile sensor interfaces

Experience with semiconductor vendor technical engagement for component evaluation and design support

Experience working with contract manufacturers on DFM review and production test development

Familiarity with functional safety hardware mechanisms (watchdogs, voltage monitors, safe-state circuits, redundancy)