Senior Electrical Engineer

About Vector Atomic

Vector Atomic, an IonQ company, is building quantum technology to transform navigation, timing, geophysical exploration, and telecommunications. Our team of engineers, scientists, software developers, and operations professionals works together to solve complex challenges and turn bold ideas into real-world solutions. We value collaboration, curiosity, and diverse perspectives, and we give every team member the opportunity to make an immediate impact while growing their skills. If you’re excited to work on breakthrough technology in a fast-paced, hands-on environment, we’d love to hear from you.

Location: This role is based onsite at our office in Pleasanton, CA.
Travel: Up to 5%
Job ID: 1645

The Role

As a Senior Electrical Engineer, you will serve as a key contributor in developing innovative electronic solutions for groundbreaking quantum instruments. You will be responsible for overseeing the entire lifecycle of complex circuits, from initial concept through implementation and production. The ideal candidate is an agile, creative engineer who thrives in high-paced environments, possessing the unique ability to shift seamlessly between intricate design challenges and immediate hardware troubleshooting while maintaining uncompromising quality standards.

Responsibilities

• System Design & Collaboration: Partner with cross-functional teams of physicists and mechanical/optical engineers to translate system requirements into innovative schematic designs.
• Full-Lifecycle PCB Development: Lead the complete PCBA journey for high-speed digital, precision analog, mixed-signal, and RF boards.
• Design Standards & Integrity: Establish and advocate for PCB layout standards, including stack-ups, impedance profiles, and EMI/EMC-aware strategies.
• Optimization: Drive component selection and routing to optimize signal integrity (SI), power integrity (PI), thermal efficiency, and manufacturability.
• Power Management: Design and develop Point-of-Load (POL) power supply circuits with stringent sequencing, ripple, and efficiency requirements.
• Manufacturing & Test: Ensure DFM/DFA compliance by collaborating with fabricators to improve yields, address support issues, and define test procedures.
• Documentation: Maintain accurate design data, revisions, and Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) within a cloud-based PLM system.
• Laboratory Support: Perform hands-on hardware debugging and verification using standard laboratory test equipment.

Requirements

• Education & Experience: * Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering (or related field) with 6+ years of professional experience; OR * Master’s degree with 3+ years of professional experience.

• Technical Design Expertise: At least 3 years of experience in complex, mixed-signal PCBA design using advanced ECAD tools.
• To comply with the US export control laws, Vector Atomic employees must be U.S. citizens (born or naturalized), lawful U.S. permanent residents (i.e. green card holders), and certain categories of refugees, and asylees.
• Layout Proficiency: Demonstrated expertise in high-density layouts (HDI), fine-pitch BGAs, and controlled impedance structures (microstrip/stripline).
• Circuit Knowledge: Proven experience designing with modern FPGAs, MCUs, and precision analog circuits.
• Hardware Debugging: Hands-on skill with oscilloscopes, digital voltmeters, and spectrum analyzers.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication skills for cross-functional collaboration.

Preferred Qualifications

• Altium Mastery: Advanced experience in Altium Designer, including schematic capture, library management, and constraint-driven layouts.
• Systems Integration: Proven ability to integrate PCB designs with PLM/ERP systems and manage component lifecycles.
• Advanced Electronics: A background in defining, simulating, and verifying ASIC designs.
• Specialized Design: Previous experience in low-power design and familiarity with RoHS/CE, EMI/EMC, and UL compliance standards.

**Benefits will be provided by Vector Atomic, an IonQ Company, and will differ from the benefits listed on the IonQ website.** 

Benefits

Vector Atomic values teamwork, open and honest discourse, and work-life balance. We offer competitive compensation and benefits including:

• Platinum-level family health coverage (medical, dental, vision)
• Health and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Employer 401(k) contributions
• 20 days of paid time off & 11 paid holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Fully stocked kitchen

The approximate base salary range for this position is $142,113 to $186,063 per year. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity and benefits.  It's atypical to be hired at the top end of this range for the role, as actual pay is based on several factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience level.