Senior PCB Design Layout Engineer (Irvine, CA, US, 92618)

At Penguin Solutions (Nasdaq: PENG) – The AI Factory Platform Company – we're building a team of innovators who thrive on collaboration, creativity, and the opportunity to help shape the future of AI. As part of the AI technology revolution, our teams design, build, deploy, and manage AI factories for enterprises, sovereign AI initiatives, and neocloud providers worldwide.

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, Penguin Solutions operates globally through a network of R&D, manufacturing, and sales locations. For nearly three decades, we have operated at the intersection of memory and AI/HPC infrastructure. That engineering expertise positions us to power the next generation of AI workloads, from training to inference and agentic AI at scale.

Penguin Solutions brings together differentiated infrastructure software, advanced memory, compute systems, end-to-end services, and industry-leading partner solutions in a full-stack AI factory platform designed to help customers deploy and scale AI workloads with speed and precision.

At Penguin Solutions, we value ideas over hierarchy and believe in servant leadership, where leaders enable teams to do their best work. We empower employees to take ownership, drive innovation, and grow through challenging work, continuous learning, and exposure to advanced AI tools and technologies. With flexibility where it matters and a strong focus on outcomes, Penguin Solutions is a place to do your best work, grow your career, and make a meaningful impact.

Job Overview
Penguin Solutions is seeking a Senior PCB Design Layout Engineer to support the development of high-performance memory and advanced hardware products. This role focuses on complex PCB layout and design execution for high-speed digital, mixed-signal, and power applications, including memory modules, custom memory platforms, and advanced system-level designs.

The ideal candidate will have strong hands-on experience with Cadence Allegro and OrCAD Capture, high-speed routing, controlled impedance design, SI/PI design principles, HDI technologies, PCB stack-up development, power delivery considerations, and manufacturability requirements. This position requires close collaboration with hardware engineering, SI/PI, mechanical, manufacturing, test, fabrication, assembly, and customer-facing teams to deliver reliable and manufacturable designs from concept through production release.

Own PCB design layout execution from initial floor planning through release to fabrication and assembly.

Work closely with hardware engineers, SI/PI engineers, mechanical engineers, PCB designers, manufacturing, and test teams to design new products and modify or sustain existing products.

Create PCB component footprints per applicable IPC standards and manufacturer data sheets, when needed.

Create and review multilayer PCB stack-ups, including impedance-controlled, high-speed, mixed-signal, power, and HDI designs.

Define board outlines, mechanical constraints, placement keepouts, route keepouts, and other physical design requirements.

Identify signal topologies and implement electrical constraints using Cadence Allegro Constraint Manager.

Perform component placement and PCB routing, including differential pairs, controlled impedance lines, fine-pitch BGA escape routing, and tight length-matching requirements.

Define and implement high-speed PCB design constraints for DDR, PCIe, CXL, and other high-speed interfaces.

Work with SI/PI engineers to support signal integrity, power integrity, stack-up definition, impedance control, routing strategies, return-path planning, and crosstalk mitigation.

Support power delivery network design through power plane planning, decoupling strategy, and PDN-aware placement and routing.

Collaborate with PCB fabricators on stack-up, material selection, impedance targets, HDI construction, DFM, yield, cost, and schedule tradeoffs.

Prepare fabrication drawings, assembly drawings, Gerber files, ODB++/IPC-2581 files as required, and complete PCB release packages.

Lead placement reviews, routing reviews, post-layout reviews, and DFM reviews, and support schematic and manufacturing readiness reviews.

Mentor junior PCB designers and help improve PCB design standards, library practices, constraint methodology, and release processes.

Stay current with industry standards, PCB fabrication technologies, design tools, and best practices, and recommend improvements where appropriate.

Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics, or related technical discipline preferred; equivalent experience will be considered. Master's degree is a plus.

8+ years of PCB design/layout experience for high-speed digital, mixed-signal, and power designs.

5+ years of hands-on experience with Cadence Allegro and OrCAD Capture.

Strong experience with high-speed digital design practices, controlled impedance routing, differential pair routing, length matching, timing/skew management, topology implementation, return paths, and crosstalk considerations.

Experience with complex multilayer PCBs, preferably 12-24+ layers, including HDI, blind/buried vias, microvias, via-in-pad, sequential lamination, fine-pitch BGAs, and advanced fabrication constraints.

Experience with power supply circuits, analog circuits, mixed-signal layout practices, and power delivery considerations.

Ability to read, interpret, and apply component manufacturer data sheets, reference designs, layout guidelines, and fabrication requirements.

Working knowledge of JEDEC DDR4 and DDR5 standards is highly preferred. Experience with DDR3, MRDIMM, CXL, PCIe, or other high-speed memory interfaces is a plus.

Experience designing memory modules, server boards, accelerator cards, storage products, or high-speed embedded systems is a plus.

Ability to interface with customers and internal stakeholders to understand requirements and translate them into manufacturable PCB designs.

Self-starter with strong organizational skills, attention to detail, ownership mindset, and excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Ability to identify areas of innovation in memory design. Experience with invention disclosure or patent processes is a plus.

Location
This is a Hybrid position that would be located in either Irvine, CA or in Newark, CA.

Travel
None anticipated

Compensation & Benefits
The base pay range that the Company reasonably expects to pay for this position in California is $150,000 – 170,000; the pay ultimately offered may vary based on business considerations, including job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and education. The position is bonus-eligible, and there are medical, dental, and vision benefits available. There is a 401k saving plan and other benefits, such as Paid Time Off, Life Insurance, and an Employee Assistance Plan.

Inclusion & Belonging Statement
We are committed to creating an inclusive environment that embraces differences and fosters belonging for all.

Equal Opportunity Statement
We are an Affine Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and are strongly committed to policies that provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons without regard to age, national origin, race, ethnicity, creed, gender, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

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