Sr. Analog Electrical Engineer

Job Title : Sr. Analog Electrical Engineer 

Rate : Open to Market

Location details : Everett, WA

Duration : 12 Months- C2H

Job Description

Client is seeking a highly experienced Analog Hardware Design Engineer to join a fast‑paced, high‑impact product engineering effort. The team is entering a pivotal phase: a new hardware design is about to begin PCA bring‑up, and the engineering team must debug, redesign, validate, and complete a fully functional hardware revision.

This role requires a hands-on analog expert—someone who thrives on debugging complex measurement circuitry, optimizing high‑current designs, and driving iterative improvements. You will be the technical lead in taking the design from first-article prototype to a 100% working, production-ready revision.

Candidates with primarily FPGA or high‑speed gigasample digital backgrounds will NOT be a fit. This is a precision analog power electronics measurement systems role.

What You’ll Do

1. New PCA Bring-Up & Rapid Debug

• Lead the entire first‑article PCA validation process when boards arrive in the next 1–2 weeks.
• Identify, characterize, and isolate root-cause issues across analog measurement, high-current paths, H‑Bridge drivers, and power subsystems.
• Document all design faults, performance variances, and unexpected behaviors.
• Work closely with cross-functional engineering teams to plan rapid design-turn cycles.

2. Precision Analog & Measurement Circuit Design

• Own design, debugging, and improvement of precision analog circuits operating DC to 1 MHz, including:
  • Low-noise op amp stages
  • Instrumentation amplifier architectures
  • High-resolution ADC front-end design
  • Measurement accuracy, stability, and drift considerations
• Improve circuit performance through simulation (SPICE, LTSpice, QSPICE) and empirical validation.

3. High-Current & Power Electronics Development

• Design and characterize high-current (>20A) current sources, ensuring thermal stability, accuracy, and dynamic response.
• Apply deep understanding of H-Bridge drivers—preferably using H-Bridges in non-motor applications such as signal routing, switching, precision control, or load modulation.
• Diagnose switching losses, cross‑conduction, thermal hotspots, and transient behavior.

4. Thermal, PCB, and Mechanical Integration

• Work with heavy copper PCAs (>3 oz copper) to optimize current carrying capacity, heat spreading, and mechanical robustness.
• Collaborate with mechanical/thermal engineers on heat sinking, chassis conduction, airflow paths, and component placement.
• Drive layout review and revision cycles to meet performance, manufacturability, and regulatory constraints.

5. Simulation, Analysis & Documentation

• Create SPICE simulations to validate proposed design improvements prior to layout changes.
• Provide detailed documentation including:
  • Debug summaries
  • Root-cause analyses
  • Electrical test procedures
  • Redesign proposals
  • Final design validation reports

6. Deliver a Fully Functional Hardware Revision
✔ Debug of first PCA spin
✔ Redesign and schematic updates
✔ Layout guidance and review
✔ Validation testing
✔ Hand‑off of a production-ready revision

Required Qualifications (Must-Have)

Precision Analog & Measurement

• Demonstrated excellence designing precision analog circuits DC to 1 MHz
  (op amps, instrumentation amps, ADC front-ends).
• Proven experience designing, modeling, and debugging high‑current sources (>20A).
• Deep expertise with H-Bridge drivers, particularly for non‑motor applications.
• Strong understanding of signal integrity, noise sources, thermal drift, grounding, and shielding in measurement systems.

Practical Debug Skills

• Expert hands-on use of lab equipment:
  • Oscilloscopes
  • Logic analyzers
  • Thermal imagers
  • Spectrum analyzers
  • LCR meters
• Ability to take ambiguous or intermittent failures and systematically isolate the root cause.

Tools & Engineering Software

• Proficiency with ECAD tools such as Cadence, Allegro, or Altium.
• Strong experience with simulation tools: SPICE, LTSpice, QSPICE, or similar.

Preferred Qualifications (Nice-to-Have)

• Experience with impedance control, signal integrity, and EMI/EMC compliance.
• Comfort integrating hardware with firmware engineering teams
  (low-level drivers, embedded interfaces, register-level behavior).
• 10 years of industry experience, preferably in test equipment, metrology, or precision measurement hardware.

Ideal Candidate Traits

The client places a strong emphasis on continuous improvement and practical problem-solving. Ideal candidates will:

• Show genuine excitement about hands-on engineering challenges.
• Demonstrate a Kaizen mindset—always improving, always learning.
• Be proactive and question assumptions instead of accepting the status quo.
• Embrace iterative change rather than perfection paralysis.
• Seek solutions in parallel with discovering problems.
• Create an environment where teammates feel empowered to contribute ideas.
• Use the “5 Whys” to drive root-cause investigation.
• Combine data, creativity, and engineering intuition to propose low-cost, elegant improvements.
• Pull in diverse viewpoints from peers, technicians, and cross-functional partners.
• Maintain a mindset of never stopping to improve.