Electrical Engineer

About the Role

An exceptional Electrical Engineer is sought for an ambitious deep tech startup developing next-generation sensing technology. This role offers the opportunity to shape the technology early, take ownership of critical hardware, and transform challenging engineering ideas into working systems. The focus will be on the low-noise analog front end and the surrounding acquisition system.

Key Responsibilities

• Design analog front ends for microvolt-level differential signals, from hundreds of kHz to the low-MHz range.
• Develop and validate noise budgets, accounting for source impedance, amplifier noise, input capacitance, and common-mode rejection.
• Own PCB development from schematic and layout through assembly, bring-up, debugging, and revisions.
• Select amplifiers, filters, ADCs, and clocks; evaluate direct sampling versus analog demodulation.
• Write Python tools for data acquisition, signal analysis, I/Q detection, filtering, and decimation.
• Integrate sensors, ADCs, and FPGA/MCU/DAQ platforms into a reliable, synchronized acquisition system.
• Build laboratory setups and collaborate with hardware vendors and technical partners.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Strong circuit fundamentals and hands-on analog or mixed-signal design skills, demonstrated through personally built and tested hardware.
• Experience taking hardware from schematic and PCB layout through bring-up, debugging, and measured results.
• Solid understanding of low-noise design, filtering, grounding, shielding, and input protection.
• Experience using oscilloscopes, signal generators, spectrum analyzers, or lock-in amplifiers.
• Python skills for analyzing experimental data and automating measurements.
• Ownership, technical curiosity, and the ability to explain design decisions clearly.
• Availability to work on site in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Qualifications

• A background in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field.
• Equivalent practical experience designing, building, and testing analog hardware is equally welcome.
• No more than 5 years of professional engineering experience.
• Strong research, internship, and independent hardware projects are welcome.

Experience That Stands Out

• Low-noise sensor interfaces, biomedical instrumentation, bioimpedance, precision data acquisition, or RF receivers.
• FPGA/SoC development, including Zynq, high-speed ADC interfaces, digital mixing, and CIC/FIR decimation.
• Complete acquisition systems that stream data from an ADC to a computer.
• Lock-in detection, synchronous measurement, and multichannel synchronization.

Your First 90 Days

• Characterize an existing front-end prototype.
• Establish a reliable low-noise measurement setup.
• Recommend a receive-chain architecture.
• Deliver a board revision that measurably improves performance.