RFIC Design Engineer (Durham)

Role Overview

As an RFIC Design Engineer, you will drive all RF circuit-level design for Soctera's current and future products. This role requires direct engagement with customers to understand PA module needs and seamless collaboration with the Device Engineer to provide feedback for device-level improvements.

Key Responsibilities

• MMIC Design: Design and tape-out Soctera MMIC PAs to meet customer requirements.
• Circuit Architecture : Own topology and architecture decisions for Soctera's MMIC PA products, from spec to schematic.
• Testing : Support bring-up, bench characterization, and debugging of fabricated Soctera PA products.
• Evaluation & Reference Designs: Develop evaluation boards and reference designs for packaged Soctera products.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate with the RF Device Engineering team to provide feedback for device-level improvements to Soctera’s process.
• Technical Customer Engagement: Interface directly with customers' engineering teams to understand PA module designer’s needs.

Required Qualifications

• Senior level, demonstrated relevant industry in GaN MMIC PA design.
• Understanding of GaN RF transistor processing and device physics (e.g. trapping, thermal effects, and transistor models), and how these affect key performance metrics and tradeoffs at the MMIC level.
• Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in Electrical Engineering, or a related field with a focus on RF/microwave circuit design.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Proven ability to effectively articulate and present technical concepts to diverse stakeholders, including IC, package, EM, simulation results, measurement data, and thermal considerations.
• Capacity to spearhead technical initiatives independently while fostering strong, cross-functional partnerships.
• Direct experience engaging with customer engineering teams on PA module requirements.
• Understanding of PA thermal and packaging constraints.
• Experience with RF EDA tools (e.g., Keysight ADS) for MMIC and circuit-level design.
• Experience with EM simulation tools (e.g., Keysight ADS Momentum, Ansys HFSS, EMX) for passive and interconnect modeling.
• Experience in taping-out designs to commercial GaN foundry technologies, and familiarity with IC layout and DRC/LVS verification flows.
• Experience designing evaluation boards and reference designs for packaged RF parts.
• Familiarity with RF GaN reliability considerations as they pertain to circuit design.
• Comfort operating in a fast-paced startup environment, with the flexibility to take on responsibilities beyond a traditional circuit-design role as the team scales.

What We Offer

• High-impact Culture: Thriving, collaborative startup culture offering significant opportunities to influence the company's trajectory through cutting-edge technical work.
• Growth Potential: Dedicated pathways to advance into leadership roles with expanded scope as the team scales.
• Professional Recognition: Significant prospects to showcase technical contributions through scientific publications and industry conferences.
• Salary: Competitive base salary commensurate with experience.
• Equity: Stock option grants.
• Paid Time Off: Annual allocation of 15 days for personal leave and vacation. Unlimited sick days.
• Relocation: Support for relocation as required.
• Health Benefits: Subsidization of employee health, dental and vision insurance premiums. Partial subsidization of dependents’ coverage available.
• Retirement Benefits: Access to 401(k) retirement plan.