Principal Hardware Design Engineer

About the Role

We're looking for an experienced Principal Hardware Design Engineer/Manager to lead PCB design and development for next-generation, high-performance cellular base stations. You'll architect the board-level circuitry that complements our custom silicon — spanning digital processing, high-speed SerDes, power management, and RF transmission/reception — to deliver a solution that's both high-reliability and low-cost/power.

This opportunity is a high-visibility technical leadership role based in San Diego, CA: you'll own PCB system architecture from concept through qualification, working shoulder-to-shoulder with various domain experts to ensure everything comes together.

What You'll Do

• Own PCB development end-to-end, from concept through production
• Design and implement RF, analog, digital, and power circuits for high-performance base station products
• Partner with experts on floor planning and PCB constraints for seamless integration
• Lead and review schematic capture and PCB layout
• Optimize PCB stack-up for performance and cost
• Develop and maintain schematic symbols and component footprints
• Drive the PCB development flow to improve quality and productivity
• Lead PCB vendor engagement through DFM review
• Support board bring-up and debug
• Lead and manage a team of hardware design engineers, setting goals, providing mentorship, and driving technical and career growth
• Conduct performance reviews, provide ongoing feedback, and build a high-performing engineering team culture
• Drive staffing decisions including hiring, onboarding, and resource planning to ensure adequate team capacity
• Own project planning, scheduling, and milestone tracking for hardware development programs, from kickoff through production release
• Identify and manage project risks, dependencies, and trade-offs; escalate blockers proactively to keep programs on track
• Coordinate cross-functional program reviews with firmware, systems, and product teams to align on deliverables and timelines

What You Bring

• 15+ years of relevant hardware design experience, including mixed signal circuits and PCB architecture
• BSc in Electrical Engineering or equivalent experience/training
• Proven track record in PCB schematic and layout design, ideally in high-speed and RF/analog applications
• Hands-on experience with Cadence Allegro
• Solid grasp of signal integrity, power integrity, and thermal management principles
• Working knowledge of PCB fabrication processes and DFM best practices
• Strong foundation in both analog and digital electronics
• A track record of mentoring less experienced designers
• Demonstrated people management experience, including leading, coaching, and developing teams of 5+ engineers in a fast-paced hardware environment
• Proven project management skills, including the ability to define scope, manage schedules, allocate resources, and deliver complex hardware programs on time and on budget
• Strong ability to communicate project status, risks, and technical trade-offs to executive stakeholders
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration and communication skills — you'll work daily with experts across multiple domains

Nice to Have

• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment where innovation must align with real-world constraints
• Exposure to AI-assisted EDA tools for schematic capture, layout optimization, or DFM checking
• Comfort using AI copilots (e.g., Cadence's AI/ML-enabled Allegro features, or general LLM tools) to speed up documentation, datasheet parsing, or design-rule research
• General comfort adopting AI-augmented workflows to boost design productivity — this is a plus, not a requirement, for the right hands-on RF/analog expert

Compensation and Benefits

At InnoPhase, dba GreenWave Radios, our total rewards package includes both a competitive base salary and pre-IPO stock options. The anticipated base salary range for this position is $180,000 to $210,000 annually. Actual compensation will be determined based on several factors, including market conditions, interview performance, skills, qualifications, experience, education, and geographic location. In addition to base pay, employees are eligible for a comprehensive benefits package. For detailed information on our benefits programs, please visit our website.