Senior Hardware Design Engineer at Fairchild Imaging, Inc. in San Jose, CA

Job description

• Senior Hardware Design Engineer – Imaging Systems and High-Speed Electronics
• We are seeking an experienced Senior Hardware Design Engineer to lead the design and development of advanced PCB-based imaging platforms for next-generation CMOS image sensors, board-level cameras, and X-ray camera systems. This role requires deep expertise in high-speed digital hardware design, signal integrity, sensor integration, and system-level optimization for imaging performance and interface interoperability.
• In addition to hands-on technical leadership, this role may include responsibility for mentoring engineers, driving technical direction across projects, and contributing to team growth and engineering excellence.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership and Team Development
• Provide technical leadership across hardware development programs for imaging and sensor-based products.
• Mentor and guide junior and mid-level hardware engineers in schematic design, PCB layout, debug methodologies, and engineering best practices.
• Lead hardware design reviews, architecture discussions, and cross-functional technical decision-making.
• Establish and promote engineering standards for high-speed PCB design, signal integrity, documentation, and validation.
• Support project planning, task prioritization, resource estimation, and execution tracking for hardware development activities.
• goal setting and performance feedback,
• career development and coaching,
• hiring and onboarding support.
• Board-Level Camera and CMOS Image Sensor Platforms
• Architect, design, and validate high-performance PCBs for board-level camera systems supporting state-of-the-art CMOS image sensors.
• image sensor bring-up and debugging,
• electrical and optical characterization,
• internal evaluation platforms,
• customer demonstration systems.
• Design interfaces and interconnects for high-speed sensor communication, including:
• LVDS and other high-speed serial interfaces.
• Collaborate with sensor, firmware, software, and applications teams to ensure successful sensor integration and system functionality.
• Optimize board architecture, power delivery, grounding, clocking, and layout to maximize sensor performance and minimize electrical noise.
• Evaluate and mitigate hardware design impacts on end-user image quality, including:
• noise floor,
• fixed pattern noise,
• EMI/EMC coupling,
• timing integrity,
• power integrity artifacts.
• X-ray Camera Electronics
• Design and develop hardware platforms for X-ray camera systems integrating image sensors, detector electronics, and high-speed data interfaces.
• Architect PCB solutions for sensor interface, power management, control electronics, and data acquisition subsystems.
• USB-C orientation support,
• enumeration and configuration reliability,
• sustained high-bandwidth streaming performance,
• cable and host interoperability robustness.
• Analyze and debug signal integrity challenges across USB-C and other high-speed interfaces in demanding imaging applications.
• Signal Integrity and Hardware Excellence
• Serve as subject matter expert in PCB design for high-speed/high-density electronics.
• signal integrity analysis,
• impedance control,
• differential pair routing,
• return path management,
• power integrity optimization.
• Drive design reviews, schematic reviews, layout reviews, and hardware validation plans.
• Support prototype bring-up, debug, failure analysis, and design iteration.

Requirements

• BS/MS in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 8+ years of hardware design experience, including complex multilayer PCB design.
• Proven expertise designing high-speed digital systems and high-density PCBs.
• Demonstrated technical leadership, mentoring, or team lead experience.
• Strong hands-on experience with CMOS image sensor integration and board-level camera development.
• Experience with schematic capture and PCB layout tools such as Altium Designer, Cadence Allegro, or equivalent.
• Hands-on lab debugging skills using oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers, logic analyzers, and related instrumentation.
• Prior direct people management experience.
• Experience with X-ray imaging systems or medical/industrial imaging electronics.
• Familiarity with detector electronics, analog front ends, and low-noise sensor systems.
• Experience supporting customer evaluation platforms and demo systems.
• Knowledge of image quality characterization and hardware contributions to imaging artifacts.

Skills

Required

• High-speed digital hardware design
• Signal integrity
• CMOS image sensor integration
• Board-level camera development
• Technical leadership and mentoring

Preferred

• Direct people management

Benefits

• Fairchild Imaging provides our employees with a range in benefits offerings that includes:
• 9/80 Schedule - You get every other Friday off!
• Medical, Dental and Vision coverage with multiple plan offerings
• Health Savings Account with an employer contribution annually
• 401(k) retirement plans with Employer matching
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Generous Paid Time Off policy
• The compensation salary range for this role is $180,000 to $200,000. Actual compensation packages are based on several factors that are unique to each candidate, including but not limited to skill set, depth of experience, education, certifications, and knowledge.