Wi-Fi RF System Engineer

Responsibilities

MaxLinear is looking for an experienced RF System Engineer to join our Wi-Fi System RF team and contribute to the development, characterization, integration, and optimization of next-generation Wi-Fi products. In this role, you will focus on:

• Develop and optimize software-based RF calibration algorithms using C/C++ and MATLAB.
• Own RF and system-level bring-up, characterization, validation, and performance optimization from silicon to the complete Wi-Fi platform.
• Define RF/system requirements and detailed specifications for RFIC, analog, and RF front-end components.
• Perform silicon characterization and correlate lab measurements with simulations and system requirements.
• Debug and optimize RF performance, including TX/RX performance, calibration behavior, linearity, EVM, sensitivity, and related system KPIs.
• Integrate and optimize external RF front-end components (FEMs), including characterization, calibration/DPD support, and platform-level validation.

Qualifications

• BSc in Electrical Engineering or a related field; MSc preferred.
• At least 3 years of relevant experience in RF/system engineering, wireless communications, or RFIC/system development.
• Strong understanding of RF fundamentals, RFIC architectures, transceiver operation, and calibration techniques.
• Experience in system-level RF design, characterization, integration, or validation for Wi-Fi, cellular, or other wireless communication systems.
• Strong hands-on laboratory experience with RF measurement, testing, and debugging.
• Proficiency in MATLAB and C/C++ for calibrations development, data analysis, and debugging.
• Strong analytical and debugging skills with the ability to investigate issues across hardware, firmware, and software boundaries.
• Excellent communication skills and demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with multidisciplinary and geographically distributed teams.

Preferred Experience:

• Wi-Fi RF system development and knowledge of IEEE 802.11 PHY/RF requirements.
• RF silicon bring-up and characterization across PVT conditions.
• RF front-end module (FEM) integration and optimization.
• Digital pre-distortion (DPD), TX/RX IQ and LO calibrations, AGC, or related RF calibration algorithms.
• Automated RF characterization and production-test environments.
• Board-level RF debugging and familiarity with schematic/layout considerations for high-performance RF systems.

Company Overview

MaxLinear is a global, NASDAQ-traded company (MXL) where the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. We are a fabless system-on-chip product company, striving to improve the world’s communication networks for everyone through our highly integrated radio-frequency (RF), analog, digital, and mixed-signal semiconductor solutions for access and connectivity, wired and wireless infrastructure, and industrial and multi-market applications.

We hire the best people in the industry and engage them in some of the most exciting opportunities that connect the world we live in today. Our growth has come from innovative, bold approaches to solving some of the world’s most challenging communication technology problems in the most efficient and effective manner.

MaxLinear began by developing the world’s first high-performance TV tuner chip using standard CMOS process technology. Others said we couldn’t achieve the extremely high-performance requirements using CMOS, but we proved them wrong and achieved enduring global market leadership with our designs. Since then, we’ve developed a full line of products that drive 4G and 5G infrastructure; enable data center, metro and long-haul optical interconnects; bring 10Gbit to the home; power the IoT revolution; and enable robust and reliable communication in harsh industrial environments. Over the years, we’ve expanded through organic growth and through several acquisitions that have perfectly complemented our existing portfolio and enabled us to deliver complete end-to-end solutions in our target markets. One such example was the acquisition of Intel’s Home Gateway Platform Division that added Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and Broadband Gateway Processor SoC technology to our connected home portfolio creating a complete and scalable platform of connectivity and access solutions to fully address our customers’ needs.

Our headquarters are in Carlsbad, near San Diego, California. We also have major design centers in Irvine and San Jose, California; Valencia, Spain; Bangalore, India; Munich, Germany; Israel; and Singapore.

We have approximately 1,200 employees, a substantial majority of whom have engineering degrees and include masters and Ph.D. graduates from many of the premiere universities around the world. Our employees thrive on innovation, outstanding execution, outside-the-box thinking, nimbleness, and collaboration. Together, we form a high-energy business team that is focused on building the best and most innovative products on the market.