Staff Electrical Engineer

About the Company

Zap Surgical Systems is a surgical robotics start-up located in San Carlos, CA. Leveraging its unique gyroscopic motion and self-shielded design, our product, the ZAP-X®, is disrupting the industry and opening new frontiers in modern radiosurgery. Zap’s employees thrive in an environment where multiple fields of study come together to solve challenging and important problems. You will be joining a diverse, cross-functional team that is bringing to market the most advanced stereotactic radiotherapy technology.

Purpose of the Role

The Electrical Engineer leads system-level design and hands-on implementation of next-generation medical devices at ZAP Surgical, spanning analog and digital signal circuits, high-power electronics, and electro-mechanical subsystems. This role contributes across the full product lifecycle—from architecture and prototyping through verification, design transfer, and sustaining engineering—and owns system-level troubleshooting, failure analysis (FA), and root cause analysis (RCA). The ideal candidate is a self-directed problem solver who thrives in a cross-functional environment and is motivated by building products that meaningfully improve patient outcomes.

Major Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead electrical design and architecture for new product development and support the full lifecycle of existing products through sustaining engineering and continuous improvement.
• Author system requirements, design specifications, test plans, protocols, and verification reports covering power, EMC, electrical safety, and functional performance.
• Partner with mechanical and software engineering teams to ensure products meet applicable medical device standards, including IEC 60601-1 (electrical safety) and IEC 60601-1-2 (EMI/EMC).
• Drive system-level design tradeoffs in close collaboration with mechanical, software, and manufacturing engineering, balancing performance, cost, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Support design transfer to manufacturing by building prototypes, developing test fixtures and stations, and performing failure analysis and root cause analysis on returned or failed electrical assemblies.
• Design, prototype, and validate analog, digital, power, communications, and mixed-signal (ADC/DAC) circuits at the board and system level.
• Define test procedures and execute design verification activities to ensure product requirements are met.

Qualifications

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering with a minimum of 7 years of relevant industry experience.
• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering with a minimum of 5 years of relevant industry experience.
• Medical device experience strongly preferred.

Experience Requirements

• Strong foundation in electrical engineering fundamentals, including circuit theory, signal integrity, and power electronics.
• Hands-on experience operating under design-controlled engineering environment.
• Proficiency with lab test and measurement equipment including DMMs, oscilloscopes, function generators, power analyzers, and spectrum analyzers.
• Demonstrated PCBA design experience—schematic capture, BOM generation, layout review, and microcontroller firmware integration—applied to medical device safety standards.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to clearly document technical work and present to cross-functional stakeholders.
• Preferred: Develop and integrate motion control, closed-loop control, and power distribution subsystems within complex electro-mechanical platforms.

Skills and Other Requirements

• Proficiency with Altium Designer or equivalent EDA/CAD tools for schematic capture and PCB layout review.
• Working knowledge of system architecture, reliability analysis, and design risk mitigation for complex hardware platforms.
• Quality- and process-oriented mindset; comfortable working within GMP and controlled documentation environments.
• Self-directed, organized, and able to drive technical work to completion with minimal supervision in a fast-paced product development environment.