Senior Hardware Design Engineer at 1st Avenue Power in Mountain View, CA

Job description

• We are looking for a talented and innovative Hardware Design Engineer with significant experience in TDR Equipment Design Engineer to join our R&D team. In this role, you will lead the design, development, and validation of Time Domain Reflectometry instruments and systems tailored for renewable energy applications — including solar PV, wind, and battery energy storage systems (BESS). You will work across the full hardware development lifecycle, from concept and schematic design through to prototyping, testing, and production handover. This is a technically deep, hands-on role ideal for an engineer passionate about precision measurement instrumentation and power systems diagnostics.

Responsibilities

• Hardware Design & Development
• Design and develop TDR hardware including pulse generation circuits, high-speed analog front ends, sampling circuits, and signal conditioning stages
• Design PCB layouts for high-frequency, low-noise TDR circuits using tools such as Altium Designer, or Cadence
• Select and evaluate components including ADCs, DACs, op-amps, FPGAs, and microcontrollers suitable for TDR applications
• Develop impedance matching networks and transmission line interfaces for various cable types (coax, twisted pair, MV power cables)
• Design power supply and protection circuitry compliant with safety and EMC standards
• Signal Processing & Firmware
• Collaborate with firmware/embedded engineers to develop DSP algorithms for TDR waveform acquisition, averaging, and fault-distance calculation
• Define requirements for FPGA or microcontroller-based acquisition systems
• Develop calibration routines and compensation algorithms to ensure measurement accuracy across temperature and load conditions
• Contribute to real-time signal processing pipeline design for sub-nanosecond pulse resolution
• Prototyping & Validation
• Build and test hardware prototypes in the lab — hands-on bench work with oscilloscopes, VNAs, spectrum analyzers, and signal generators
• Conduct design verification testing (DVT) and design validation testing (DVT) across full environmental and electrical specifications
• Perform EMC pre-compliance testing and support formal EMC/EMI certification
• Validate TDR accuracy against reference cables and known fault conditions
• Support field trials on renewable energy sites to validate performance under real-world conditions
• Standards & Documentation
• Ensure designs comply with relevant standards including IEC 61010, IEC 61000 (EMC), and ISO 9001 quality requirements
• Produce detailed design documentation including schematics, BOMs, design rationale, and test reports
• Maintain version-controlled design files and contribute to IP/patent documentation where applicable
• Support production engineering during design transfer and manufacturing ramp-up
• Collaboration & Innovation
• Work closely with software, firmware, mechanical, and product management teams in an agile development environment
• Engage with customers and field engineers to gather requirements and validate designs against real-world needs
• Stay current with advances in TDR technology, high-speed analog design, and renewable energy diagnostics
• Contribute to patent filings and technical publications where appropriate

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a closely related discipline
• 5+ years of experience in analog/mixed-signal hardware design, ideally in instrumentation or test & measurement
• Strong proficiency in PCB design — schematic capture and layout using Altium Designer, or equivalent
• Solid understanding of high-speed analog circuit design — signal integrity, transmission line theory, impedance matching
• Hands-on experience with lab instruments: oscilloscopes, VNAs, spectrum analyzers, signal generators
• Familiarity with TDR principles — pulse generation, reflection analysis, fault-distance calculation
• Experience writing or reviewing hardware test plans and design verification reports
• Direct experience designing TDR, OTDR, or reflectometry-based instrumentation
• FPGA design experience (Xilinx / Intel) for high-speed data acquisition
• Knowledge of cable types used in renewable energy — DC string cables, MV AC feeders, armored underground cables
• EMC design experience and familiarity with IEC 61000 / FCC Part 15 test processes
• Experience with SPICE simulation tools (LTspice, or similar)
• Familiarity with IEC 61010 safety standard for electrical test & measurement equipment
• Exposure to ISO 9001 or IEC 62443 (industrial cybersecurity for instrumentation)
• Master's degree or PhD in relevant electronics/instrumentation field

Skills

Required

• Collaboration
• Innovation
• Customer engagement
• Altium Designer
• Cadence
• SPICE simulation tools (LTspice)
• FPGA design (Xilinx / Intel)
• TDR/OTDR principles
• High-speed analog design
• PCB design
• Signal integrity
• Transmission line theory

Benefits

• Competitive Compensation Package
• Health Insurance: We offer 100% coverage of employee premiums under a Gold-level PPO plan. Dental & Vision Insurance: 50% of employee premiums are covered.
• Retirement Plan: A 401(k) plan with a 6% employer match.
• Minimum salary of $190,000 to maximum salary of $250,000 + equity + benefits.
• The range provided is 1AP’s reasonable estimate of the base compensation for this role. The actual amount will be based on job-related and non-discriminatory factors such as location, experience, training, skills, and abilities. Consult with your Recruiter during the initial call to determine a more targeted range based on these job-related factors.
• $190,000 - $250,000 USD