Principal Electrical Engineer - Force Sensing

Location: USA - San Jose, CA

Time Type: Full time

Job Description

Location: San Jose, CA - Hybrid 4/days in office, Friday remote

Our Team:

Semtech's force sensing solutions eliminate the design compromises inherent in traditional mechanical buttons and capacitive touch, delivering sealed, material-agnostic interfaces that enhance both user experience and product reliability.

Position Summary:

In this role, you will be working closely with our mechanical, electrical, and software teams to integrate our sensing products into our customers’ electronic devices. You will collaborate with various OEMs on next generation products, including laptops, mobile phones, automotive steering wheels & smart surfaces, fitness trackers, and industrial display panels.

Your core responsibilities include independently leading schematic designs, PCB layouts, Gerber files, bill of materials, fabrication notes and design reviews; providing technical judgment and direction in component selection and sourcing to meet electrical, mechanical, cost, and reliability requirements; managing vendors to ensure on-time delivery of the designed boards and modules. You also own board-level & system‑level evaluation, characterization, and debug of fabricated circuit boards, modules and prototypes. Additionally, you will work closely with R&D team to perform bench-level verification of the new chips and resolve system-level issues for both internal and external customers.

Your tasks can vary from electrical design, mechanical design, and firmware integration. You will experience the entire product lifecycle from concept design and proof-of-concept builds through mass production. You will need to travel to customers or OEMs in Asia and Europe to provide technical support. This position offers the chance to collaborate with MEMS and CMOS designers, contributing to continuous improvements across our product portfolio. This is a fast-paced role requiring engineers who are eager to learn and thrive in a dynamic environment.

Key Responsibilities:

Design and Development: Propose and implement innovative solutions for customers particularly in mechanical, electrical, software integration and algorithm development; develop and build proof-of-concept demos and prototypes; perform electrical design, PCB layout & fabrication, and electrical component sourcing; conduct debugging and hardware bring-up of solutions of targeted applications; support R&D test & evaluation board design & fabrication; manage PCB vendors.

Customer Support and Engagement: Manage customer evaluation kits and sensor modules design and fabrication; promote cutting-edge HMI sensor solutions; provide multidisciplinary technical support (hardware, firmware and mechanical) to customers from concept to mass production.

Test and Characterization: Work closely with the R&D team on sensor-level and system-level test and characterization; conduct competitor analysis and failure analysis.

Technical Documentation and Training: Provide product training to customers, sales and FAEs; create and author technical documentation including datasheets, application notes, design guides, and white papers.

Collaboration: Collect customer feedback and requests, liaise with marketing and R&D to drive continuous improvements, shape roadmaps, and develop new technologies.

Industry engagement: Stay current with the latest advancements in consumer electronics and related industries.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field required

• 8+ years of relevant professional experience in electronic design, spanning proof-of-concept through mass production

• Proficiency with Altium, Cadence, or Siemens for schematic capture and PCB layout with multiple boards fabricated.

• Hands-on experience in analog / mixed-signal circuitry.

• Hands-on experience in one or more of the following areas: ADCs, sensor, embedded system design, firmware development, sensor signal post-processing.

• Hands-on experience with digital communication interfaces (such as I2C, SPI, UART, or similar protocols) for complex embedded system integration and validation.

• Experience developing or modifying software or firmware using C/C++, Python, or similar languages to support hardware bring‑up, debugging, validation, and system integration.

• Hands‑on experience owning system‑level evaluation, characterization, and debug of electronic components and systems, including sensors and analog or mixed‑signal integrated circuits, using standard laboratory equipment (such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, and multimeters).

• Experience preparing and authoring technical documentation — including datasheets, application notes, PCB design guidelines, integration guides, or root cause analysis reports.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, Power Point, etc.).

• Willing and able to travel up to 10%, domestic and international

• Soft skills:

  • Self-motivated, results-oriented, and enthusiastic with a commitment to achieving business objectives

  • Detail-oriented with a hands-on approach

  • Strong communication and presentation skills to engage with customers and collaborate efficiently with diverse stakeholders

  • Customer-centric work ethic

  • Team player with a strong drive to meet project schedules

  • Effective time management skills

Desired Qualifications

• Algorithm development experience is a plus.

• Experience in the Semiconductor and Automotive industries is a plus. 

• Experience with AI/ML tools such as Claude is a plus

The intent of this job description is to describe the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job. Incumbents may be required to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically included in this description.

All duties and responsibilities are essential job functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an EEO employer M/F/D/V. We maintain a drug-free workplace.

A reasonable estimate of the pay range for this position is $137,000 - $225,000. There are several factors taken into consideration in determining base salary, including but not limited to: job-related qualifications, skills, education and experience, as well as job location and the value of other elements of an employee’s total compensation package.

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