Sr Staff RF Development Engineer

About the role

This Sr Staff R&D Development Engineer position serves as a recognized technical authority in radio frequency (RF), microwave, millimeter-wave, and high-speed interconnect technologies, providing strategic technical leadership that shapes product architectures, technology roadmaps, and long-term innovation initiatives across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Technical Leadership and Innovation
  • Define and influence long-term technology strategies, product architectures, and technical roadmaps for RF and high-speed interconnect solutions.
  • Serve as a recognized subject matter expert in RF design, electromagnetic modeling, calibration methodologies, measurement science, and high-speed interconnect technology.
  • Lead the development of next-generation RF technologies, methodologies, and design practices that enable future product platforms and establish competitive advantages.
  • Drive technical innovation through advanced simulation-driven design methodologies, modeling techniques, measurement approaches, and validation strategies.
  • Establish technical standards, engineering methodologies, and best practices that are adopted across multiple product lines and engineering teams.
  • Identify and solve exceptionally complex technical challenges for which solutions may be ambiguous, incomplete, or not previously established.
  • Provide technical guidance and recommendations on major research and development investments, product strategies, and technology decisions.
• Product and Technology Development
  • Lead the architecture, design, modeling, development, and optimization of advanced RF and high-speed digital physical-layer interconnect structures and systems.
  • Provide technical direction for the development and refinement of industry-leading RF calibration methodologies, including short-open-load (SOL), short-open-load-through (SOLT), short-open-load-reciprocal (SOLR), multiline thru-reflect-line (TRL), and emerging calibration approaches.
  • Lead electromagnetic modeling, characterization, and validation activities to ensure product performance meets technical and customer requirements.
  • Make critical technical decisions that influence product performance, system architecture, manufacturability, reliability, scalability, and business success.
  • Ensure alignment among product capabilities, customer requirements, market trends, and long-term strategic objectives.
  • Lead complex engineering tradeoff analyses involving electrical performance, risk, cost, manufacturability, reliability, and time-to-market.
  • Develop and evaluate prototypes, test methods, experimental approaches, and proof-of-concept solutions for new technologies and product platforms.
  • Guide products and technologies through the development lifecycle, including concept development, design validation, qualification, and transition to manufacturing.
• RF Measurement and Validation
  • Develop advanced RF measurement, calibration, de-embedding, and error-correction methodologies.
  • Define measurement strategies and test system architectures for the characterization and validation of RF, microwave, millimeter-wave, and high-speed interconnect solutions.
  • Apply advanced knowledge of vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, power meters, and automated test systems.
  • Analyze complex test and simulation data to identify performance limitations, correlations, design risks, and opportunities for improvement.
  • Establish correlation methodologies among electromagnetic simulations, laboratory measurements, and production test results.
  • Ensure measurement systems, calibration methods, and validation processes provide accurate, repeatable, and technically defensible results.
• Customer and Market Leadership
  • Engage directly with strategic customers, industry partners, and key stakeholders to understand emerging technical challenges and future market requirements.
  • Translate complex customer test and measurement needs into technology strategies, product requirements, research initiatives, and development plans.
  • Partner with Product Management, Marketing, Applications Engineering, and Sales to define market-leading product requirements and technology differentiation strategies.
  • Represent the organization as a technical leader during customer engagements, executive discussions, technical reviews, and strategic planning activities.
  • Build trusted technical relationships with customers by providing expert consultation and developing innovative solutions to complex application challenges.
  • Evaluate market and technology trends to identify new product opportunities, technical risks, and areas for strategic investment.
• Cross-Functional Leadership
  • Lead highly complex, cross-functional development initiatives involving electrical, mechanical, process, product, manufacturing, software, and applications engineering.
  • Influence organizational decisions beyond immediate project responsibilities through technical expertise, business insight, and strategic recommendations.
  • Drive alignment across multiple engineering disciplines to optimize product performance, reliability, scalability, manufacturability, and customer value.
  • Provide technical leadership throughout design reviews, architecture reviews, risk assessments, failure analyses, and product readiness activities.
  • Build strong technical partnerships with suppliers, research institutions, industry experts, standards organizations, and strategic development partners.
  • Lead technical assessments, supplier evaluations, and technology partnership activities.
  • Communicate technical risks, recommendations, and development priorities to engineering teams and organizational leadership.
• Organizational and Industry Impact
  • Identify, evaluate, and lead the adoption of emerging technologies that advance organizational capabilities and strengthen market leadership.
  • Influence technology direction across multiple products, platforms, or business areas.
  • Mentor senior engineers and technical leaders, supporting technical development, knowledge transfer, and organizational succession planning.
  • Promote engineering excellence through technical reviews, internal training, documentation, and the development of reusable engineering methodologies.
  • Provide technical thought leadership through patents, publications, conference presentations, technical papers, and contributions to industry standards.
  • Serve as a technical ambassador for the organization at industry forums, technical conferences, customer events, and standards activities.
  • Protect organizational intellectual property by identifying inventions, supporting patent development, and maintaining appropriate technical documentation.

Preferred Qualifications & Experiences

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline, or equivalent advanced technical experience.
• Extensive experience in RF, microwave, millimeter-wave, high-speed digital interconnect, or related test and measurement technologies.
• Demonstrated success leading highly complex technical programs and influencing technology direction across multiple products, platforms, or business areas.
• Proven experience developing innovative RF or high-speed interconnect solutions with significant customer, product, market, or business impact.
• Demonstrated experience working across engineering disciplines to develop and commercialize complex technical products.
• Advanced research or equivalent industry expertise with deep specialization in RF, microwave, millimeter-wave, or high-speed digital interconnect technologies.
• Experience within semiconductor test, wafer sort, package test, advanced packaging, or related applications.
• Demonstrated history of technical innovation through patents, publications, conference presentations, standards contributions, or other forms of industry recognition.
• Expert-level proficiency with electromagnetic simulation, RF design, and modeling tools such as HFSS, ADS, Sigrity, AWR, or related platforms.
• Deep expertise in RF calibration methodologies, measurement science, de-embedding, error-correction techniques, and test system architecture.
• Advanced knowledge of RF and microwave measurement equipment, including vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, power meters, and automated test systems.
• Strong expertise in RF PCB design, signal integrity, electromagnetic compatibility, controlled impedance, and high-speed interconnect design practices.
• Advanced understanding of electromagnetic theory, transmission line behavior, impedance matching, insertion loss, return loss, crosstalk, resonances, and signal degradation.
• Ability to correlate simulation results with laboratory measurements and use findings to improve models, designs, calibration methods, and product performance.
• Strong understanding of design for manufacturability, product reliability, technical risk management, and the transition of advanced technologies into production.
• Ability to solve exceptionally complex technical problems where requirements may be incomplete and established solutions may not exist.

Skills

• High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS)
• High Speed PCB Design
• RF Calibration
• RF Measurements
• RF Simulations

Education & Experience

Minimum of 12 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 8 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD with 5 years experience; or equivalent experience

Pay

This role in Beaverton, Oregon pays between $138,900.00 and $182,280.00 per year, depending on your experience, skills, and background. Pay may vary in other locations.

Benefits

• Full benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability coverage
• 401(k) with company match
• Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)
• Paid time off
• Quarterly profit-sharing bonuses
• Flexible spending or savings accounts