Principal Electrical Engineer, Implant Electronics

Job Title: Principal Electrical Engineer, Implant Electronics

Location: San Francisco, CA

Type: Full-Time (on-site)

Level: L5 — Principal Engineer

Coherence Neuro is a highly interdisciplinary neurotechnology company solving some of the most challenging biological and medical problems that remain unmet. Our goal is to develop technologies that significantly increase the quality and length of life for those with debilitating and deadly cancers in the brain and body. We are backed by the best global venture capital firms, and are scaling our team across multiple sites to bring our products to those who need it as quickly and safely as possible. If you're driven to push the boundaries of engineering and science and want to help build something that genuinely changes lives, we want to hear from you. We value diversity and encourage applicants from all backgrounds to join us in our mission. Learn about our team here!

We are seeking a Principal Electrical Engineer to own the overall electrical architecture of SOMA, our fully implantable therapeutic brain stimulation system, and to lead its design and integration hands‑on at our San Francisco office.

This is a hands‑on technical role. You will define how the implant's stimulation, recording, optical and digital electronics fit together, and you will own major portions of the actual design and integration work: schematics, component selection, board architecture, bring‑up and debug, through to a dense rigid‑flex/HDI implant PCBA. Working with the Senior EEs, you will resolve cross‑subsystem design decisions and make sure the integrated implant meets its power, thermal, noise, safety, EMC and MRI requirements. The ideal candidate is a mixed‑signal engineer who has taken a dense, low‑power product from architecture to production, and who is happiest with a schematic open and a scope probe in hand.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the overall implant electrical architecture: subsystem partitioning, interfaces, power distribution, and grounding and reference strategy across the stimulation, recording, optical and digital electronics.
• Contribute directly to schematic design, component selection and board architecture, taking major portions of the implant electronics from concept through bring‑up and debug.
• Lead the transition from development boards to a dense rigid‑flex/HDI implant PCBA, working with layout, fabrication and assembly partners.
• Resolve cross‑subsystem electrical design decisions and trade‑offs with the senior leads, and own system‑level interface and integration requirements.
• Ensure the integrated implant PCBA meets its power, thermal, noise, safety, EMC, MRI and manufacturability requirements, and verify it at the system level.
• Define the electrical interfaces with mechanical engineering, including the enclosure, feedthroughs, connectors and coil placement.
• Produce architecture documents, interface specifications, analyses and verification reports for the design history file under ISO 13485, and contribute to ISO 14971 risk analysis.
• Mentor junior engineers through hands‑on design work and design reviews.

Required Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline; advanced degree preferred.
• 8+ years of industry experience (or 6+ with PhD) developing complex electronic systems, with significant hands‑on responsibility for architecture, circuit design, integration, and debugging.
• Track record owning the electrical architecture of a complex, space‑and power‑constrained product through to production.
• Hands‑on schematic design, component selection, bring‑up and debug of mixed‑signal boards combining analog front ends, power conversion and digital logic.
• Deep expertise in power distribution, grounding, noise and signal integrity in dense mixed‑signal systems.
• Experience designing rigid‑flex and/or HDI PCBAs and working with fabrication and assembly vendors on manufacturability.
• Working knowledge of EMC design and testing, and of designing electronics to thermal and safety constraints.
• Demonstrated technical leadership: driving cross‑functional design decisions with minimal oversight and mentoring engineers.
• Strong technical documentation and communication skills, with the ability to clearly define interfaces, architecture decisions, constraints, and design rationale.

Bonus Skills

• Active implantable or Class II/III medical device development; familiarity with ISO 14708, IEC 60601, ISO 13485 and ISO 14971.
• MR Conditional design and testing (e.g. ASTM F2182, ISO/TS 10974).
• Neural stimulation or recording electronics; wirelessly powered systems.

Reporting Structure:

The SOMA electrical engineering team has a flat structure. This role reports directly to the VP of Product Engineering and Manufacturing and works as a peer alongside the senior leads.

Benefits:

• Healthcare, dental and vision
• 401k with company match
• Industry leading paid time off (PTO) - 20 days/year + federal holidays
• Daily meals and snacks provided on site
• Professional development support and training opportunities.
• Flexible working hours and travel opportunities (We have sites in Australia, UK and US!)
• A chance to work on impactful, life-changing technologies in a dynamic, innovative environment.