Electrical Engineer - Instrumentation

Location: Santa Clara, CA (primarily onsite)

Group: Analyzer Product Group (APG), Engineering

Role Summary

We are looking for an Electrical Engineer to design, develop, and troubleshoot custom electronics for a Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (CRDS) product. You will work across analog, digital, and mixed-signal circuits, taking designs from concept through schematic/PCB layout, prototype bring-up, test/validation, and support in manufacturing.

Key Responsibilities

Design & Development

• Design and develop custom electronics (analog, digital, mixed-signal) for precision instrumentation and sensor systems
• Own schematic capture and PCB design (placement/routing), including BOM creation, DFM/DFT considerations, and design reviews
• Perform component selection and trade studies (cost, risk, availability, lifecycle, reliability), including derating and failure mode thinking

Board Bring-Up & Debug

• Lead board bring-up: initial power checks, clocking, comms interfaces, fault isolation, and root-cause debugging
• Use lab instrumentation (oscilloscope, DMM, logic analyzer, spectrum analyzer) to characterize signals, noise, timing, and power integrity

Test & Validation

• Develop test strategies and write test procedures to verify functionality, performance, reliability, and robustness
• Partner with systems, optics/laser, firmware/software, and manufacturing to troubleshoot instrument-level issues and drive corrective actions

Production Support

• Support transition to production: ECOs, documentation, test fixtures support, and resolving field/manufacturing issues

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering (or equivalent practical experience)
• 3+ years of hands-on experience designing and debugging electronics (preferably for instrumentation, sensors, or embedded systems)

Technical Expertise

• Strong fundamentals in circuit analysis and electronics: analog + digital, mixed-signal interfaces, and signal integrity basics
• Demonstrated experience with board bring-up, prototyping, soldering/rework, and hardware debugging
• Proficiency with schematic capture and PCB design tools (Altium preferred; OrCAD/KiCad acceptable)
• Comfortable using lab equipment: oscilloscope, DMM, power supplies, function generator; logic analyzer experience is a plus

Soft Skills

• Strong problem-solving, documentation, and communication skills
• Able to work effectively across disciplines

Preferred Qualifications

• Precision analog / low-noise design (TIA, photodiode front-ends, ADC/DAC interfaces, reference/clock design)
• Power architecture experience (switching regulators + LDOs, grounding strategy, ripple/noise control, sequencing, protection)
• Experience with embedded hardware interfaces (SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, USB, Ethernet) and supporting firmware teams during integration
• EMC/EMI and compliance awareness; experience designing for noisy environments and mixed analog/digital layouts
• Experience in regulated or high-reliability products (documentation discipline, design reviews, test coverage)
• Exposure to optoelectronics/instrumentation systems (lasers, photodetectors, analog front ends, precision timing)

The base salary range for this full-time position is $110K to $120K. Our total compensation packages includes base salary, bonus eligibility, and equity. Your base salary range and title will be determined based on the location, experience, qualification, skills, knowledge, level, and pay of employees in similar positions.

We offer a comprehensive benefit package including:

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) plans
• Life, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Paid Time Off and Paid Holidays
• Employee Referral Program
• 401K
• Social events (summer picnic, holiday party, team lunches, etc.)
• On-site Health & Wellness programs (fitness challenges, outdoor bootcamp, flu-shots, etc.)

About Picarro:

We are the world's leader in timely, trusted, and actionable data using enhanced optical spectroscopy. Our solutions are used in a wide variety of applications, including natural gas leak detection, ethylene oxide emissions monitoring, semiconductor fabrication, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, atmospheric science, air quality, greenhouse gas measurements, food safety, hydrology, ecology, and more. Our software and hardware are designed