Principal Hardware Architect

About the role

Piper Companies is seeking a Principal Hardware Architect around San Jose, CA to join a cutting-edge organization developing advanced networking hardware purpose-built for AI data centers. The Principal Hardware Architect will need to sit onsite 5 days a week near the San Jose CA area. The Hardware Systems Architect role is ideal for a senior electrical engineering leader with deep expertise in high-speed, high-power board design who can guide complex hardware platforms used to bring up and validate next-generation custom ASICs.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture and design of complex test and validation boards supporting custom ASIC bring-up and evaluation.
• Own the full board development lifecycle, from schematic capture through layout oversight, manufacturing, and initial bring-up.
• Provide technical leadership on signal integrity, power integrity, and thermal design for extremely high-speed, high-power systems.
• Collaborate closely with ASIC design teams to understand silicon internals, define test strategies, and validate functionality.
• Partner with mechanical engineering and test teams during board bring-up, debug, and system-level validation.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of electrical engineering experience with deep expertise in high-speed, high-power PCB design.
• Proven experience owning end-to-end board development, including manufacturing support and hands-on bring-up.
• Strong background in signal integrity (SI), power integrity (PI), and thermal considerations for dense, high-performance systems.
• Hands-on experience with board testing and validation in collaboration with mechanical and cross-functional engineering teams.
• Background in telecom or networking hardware, ideally Ethernet switching or ASIC-adjacent systems.

Pay

Salary range: $210,000-$260,000

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• 401(k) plan
• Paid time off (PTO)