Lead PCB Designer

Job Title:

Lead PCB Designer

We are seeking an accomplished Lead PCB Designer to own the architecture, execution, and quality assurance of printed circuit board layouts supporting our scalable electronically-steered radar (ESR) hardware for sophisticated spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and advanced defense target-tracking missions. This role blends hands-on technical layout work with leadership of standards, design processes, and mentoring of a small team of PCB designers.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience developing high-speed, mixed-signal, RF, and power boards for space or aerospace environments and thrive in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary setting.

• Design and layout high-speed digital, mixed-signal, RF front-end, and power management boards supporting spaceborne radar payloads and phased-array antenna modules.
• Collaborate with the Responsible Engineer to define and maintain board-level architecture, layer stack-ups, and routing strategies ensuring signal integrity, impedance control, and EMI/EMC compliance.
• Execute detailed component placement and routing for complex multi-layer designs including high-density BGAs, SERDES, DDR, FPGA, and high-frequency RF interconnects.
• Own the full lifecycle design, from schematic collaboration and layout execution through fabrication, assembly, and bring-up support.
• Integrate board design within mechanical, RF, thermal, and system-level constraints, ensuring mechanical compatibility, manufacturability, and serviceability.
• Serve as the point of contact for standardized PCB layout, DFM/DFA/DFT rules, ECAD constraint management, and centralized component-library oversight.
• Participate in formal design reviews, enforce design rules, and ensure documentation packages meet aerospace and defense standards.
• Coordinate with Contract Design Services partners to ensure alignment with internal engineering standards and deliverables.
• Support PCB fabrication and assembly vendors DFM and inquiries, ensuring compliance with stack-up, impedance, and material specifications for space/defense environments.
• Contribute to supply-chain readiness and material qualification efforts for high-reliability boards.

• Associates or Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related discipline (or demonstrated equivalent skills and experience).
• Significant experience in professional PCB layout and as a principal-level individual contributor working with multidisciplinary engineering teams delivering complex spaceborne hardware.
• Expert proficiency in Altium Designer and strong command of constraint-driven design.
• Understanding of impedance control, differential pair routing, grounding strategies, thermal management, and EMI/EMC mitigation.
• Significant experience with DFM/DFA/DFT principles and close collaboration with PCB fabrication and assembly vendors.
• Familiarity with aerospace or defense hardware design requirements such as shock, vibration, thermal, radiation, and reliability.
• Experience leading Altium toolchain integration, library management, and automation/scripting.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to present to leadership and collaborate with customers and suppliers.
• Eligibility to obtain and hold a US DoD security clearance (TS with SCI).

• Experience designing PCBs for spacecraft payloads, synthetic aperture radar systems, or electronically-steered RF arrays.
• Proficiency with 3D ECAD/MCAD co-design workflows and mechanical constraint management.
• Knowledge of IPC Class 3 and NASA or MIL specifications for PCB fabrication and assembly.
• Exposure to high-power or high-voltage design practices and power-integrity simulation tools.
• Knowledge of thermal transfer through PCB materials.
• Experience with high-frequency RF routing principles and circuits.
• Experience developing mission-critical hardware for space and/or defense environments.
• Significant experience designing complex multi-layer PCBs with high-speed interfaces (PCIe, DDR, SERDES).
• Flexibility to support critical program milestones during extended hours when necessary.
• Eligibility to work on U.S. export-controlled…