What are the responsibilities and job description for the Principal Electrical Engineer position at Voyant Photonics?
About Us:
Voyant Photonics, is transforming machine perception with a new class of LiDAR devices that are compact enough to fit in the palm of your hand and powerful enough to measure range, velocity, and reflectivity with unparalleled accuracy. By leveraging cutting-edge silicon photonic chips smaller than your fingertip, we deliver sensors that are not only revolutionary in performance but also affordable enough to integrate into any system.
Our technology disrupts the status quo of bulky, expensive, and power-hungry LiDAR systems, making high-precision sensing accessible for widespread adoption in robotics, autonomous vehicles, drones, industrial automation, and beyond. With Voyant, the next generation of machines can see, understand, and navigate the world like never before.
Discover how we’re redefining what’s possible by making real products out of cutting edge research in silicon photonics.
Why Join Us:
Voyant Photonics is expanding in the Bay Area. As a growing company, we’re looking for the best engineers who want to solve hard problems, and leave their mark on a foundational technology. We transform machine perception with a new class of LiDAR devices that are compact enough to fit in the palm of your hand and powerful enough to measure range, velocity, and reflectivity with unparalleled accuracy. You’ll join a mission-driven team at the intersection of product design, silicon photonics and machine perception.
Location: San Francisco, Hybrid
Key Responsibilities:
- Architect and develop analog and mixed-signal electronics for compact, high-performance hardware modules, using TIAs, ADCs, precision current sources, and power supplies like LDOs and switching regulators.
- Own designs from concept through production, including schematic capture, component selection, and PCB layout in collaboration with layout engineers.
- Ensure signal integrity, power integrity, and EMI/EMC compliance across high-speed and noise-sensitive interfaces.
- Define and execute bring-up, characterization, and validation plans (e.g., DVT, EVT), with a focus on robustness, repeatability, and manufacturability.
- Analyze design trade-offs (performance, cost, power, integration complexity) in the context of tightly constrained product architectures.
- Partner closely with system architects, mechanical engineers, and firmware teams to ensure seamless integration and system-level reliability.
Qualifications:
- Experience: 7 years in hands-on hardware development, with end-to-end ownership of systems that shipped at scale.
- Execution: Demonstrated ability to deliver high-reliability designs under tight constraints on power, cost, form factor, and schedule.
Technical Strengths:
- Deep expertise in low-noise analog and high-speed digital design.
- Strong grounding in signal/power integrity, high-density interconnect, and EMI mitigation techniques.
- Familiarity with high-volume design-for-manufacturing (DFM), reliability testing, and yield optimization.
Tools & Skills:
- Proficient in schematic capture and simulation (e.g., SPICE), with working knowledge of Altium or similar.
- Experience with SI/PI simulation tools (e.g., HyperLynx, SiWave) and measurement tools (GHz-range scopes, VNAs, spectrum analyzers).
- Familiarity with board-level integration of FPGAs, microcontrollers, and custom analog ASICs.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with high-speed ADCs, custom analog IC interfaces, or photonics-related electronics.
- Knowledge of flex and rigid-flex PCB design.
- Familiarity with Verilog-AMS or mixed-signal modeling.
- Exposure to Verilog HDL or FPGA development.
- Experience designing for high-reliability or harsh environments (e.g., automotive, aerospace).
Benefits Package:
- Competitive base salary and a meaningful equity package.
- Comprehensive health benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision).
- Unlimited PTO and paid company holidays.
- Team events and company meetups.
