Principal Engineer - Low Power Chip Architect / System Engineer

We are seeking a senior-level Low Power Chip Architect / System Engineer with deep expertise in mixed-signal IC and system design and a proven record of chip-level technical leadership. This is a high-impact role responsible for defining the architecture, driving transistor-level design, and enabling system-level integration of ultra-low-power integrated circuits (ICs) for Robotics and Industrial IoT (IIoT) applications.

The successful candidate will bridge high-performance Analog Front Ends (AFEs) with digital logic and firmware, leading programs from initial architecture and specification through simulation, verification, tape-out, and early silicon bring-up. This role requires strong cross-functional collaboration, sound architectural judgment, and the ability to operate effectively in ambiguous environments.

** Position requires to be onsite in San Diego, 5 days a week. **

- Bachelor's degree in Science, Engineering, or related field and 8+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.

Master's degree in Science, Engineering, or related field and 7+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.

PhD in Science, Engineering, or related field and 6+ years of ASIC design, verification, validation, integration, or related work experience.

* Define and support end-to-end system architecture, including partitioning across analog, digital, firmware, and system domains

* Drive architectural trade-offs across power, performance, noise, latency, and silicon area

* Partner with chip leads and system leads from concept definition through silicon bring-up and validation

* Lead feasibility studies and transistor-level design of mixed-signal building blocks including ADCs, DACs, PLLs/DLLs, LDOs, and SerDes

* Architect and integrate ultra-low-power AFEs optimized for battery-operated IIoT and Robotics sensor ASICs

* Drive full-chip execution in collaboration with internal teams and third-party IP vendors and design houses

* Develop behavioral and system-level models using MATLAB/Simulink (or equivalent tools) to evaluate noise, linearity, and SNR

* Perform comprehensive pre-silicon verification across PVT corners using industry-standard simulators

* Support post-silicon bring-up, characterization, and reliability qualification, including HTOL and burn-in

* Collaborate with packaging, test, and system teams to ensure successful productization

* Support multi-modal sensor data acquisition, sensor fusion, and edge AI inference workflows

* Contribute to hardware-software integration for efficient system-level deployment

* Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (or related field) with 8+ years of post-degree industrial IC/system design experience OR

* M.S. in Electrical Engineering (or related field) with 10-12+ years of industrial IC/system design experience

* Strong expertise in low-power analog and mixed-signal (AMS) IC design

* Hands-on experience with Cadence Virtuoso, AMS sims, verilog and related analog design tools

* Proficiency with Spectre, HSPICE, and board-level simulation methodologies

* Proven experience with ESD and reliability standards (HBM, CDM, TLP)

* Advanced academic background in Electrical Engineering or a closely related field

* Extensive industry experience in mixed-signal IC and system-level design

* Demonstrated experience as a Chip Lead, System Architect, or Technical Lead

* Proven ability to drive end-to-end silicon programs from concept to production

* Strong capability to work independently and provide technical direction with minimal supervision

* Experience with digital design flows, including synthesis and timing analysis

* Familiarity with firmware development and software integration

* Working knowledge of embedded interfaces such as I2C, I3C, SPI, and MIPI

* Experience with deep submicron CMOS technologies and low-power fabrication processes

* Exposure to IC packaging, board-level validation, and system bring-up

* Background in sensor systems, sensor fusion, or edge AI applications

* Excellent cross-functional communication and collaboration skills

* Ability to mentor and guide engineers across analog, digital, layout, and system domains

* Comfortable making architecture-level decisions under ambiguity

* Effective at managing external vendors, IP providers, and design partners

* Results-driven with a strong focus on execution and quality