Salary Range: $120,000.00 - $180,000.00

RF Electronics Design Engineer

Pacific NW location, attractive compensation & benefits package, 120-180k range

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About Our Client:

RA’s client founded more than 25 years ago is a leader in designing and manufacturing custom / bespoke lasers and laser systems. They are a rapidly growing company, experiencing double-digit revenue growth in recent years. They provide leading-edge gas-discharge-excited laser technologies to global industries in the medical, semiconductor, electronic, manufacturing, and scientific development R&D markets. They focus on creative designs that match their customers’ applications and solve difficult problems with innovative solutions. They constantly strive to provide a challenging and supportive work environment where team members are encouraged to go beyond ordinary thinking and challenge the normal with the truly ingenious and creative. They value their team as their greatest asset and supporting their career development is the greatest investment they can make in their future.

Almost 10 years ago, RA’s client became a member of a larger global laser/industrial company, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of lasers and laser systems. Although our client has retained the agility and flexibility of a small company, both their business and their employees now have access to new opportunities for personal, professional, and organizational growth that a much larger organization can offer.

Why work for our client?

At their core, they are an ideas company, which is driving expansion and tremendous revenue growth. They are customer driven and design application specific products which fit the individual needs of their customers. This requires highly motivated and dedicated teams. You will have the opportunity to be innovative in your work as they are constantly evolving their products and solving new problems with their customers. They owe their success to their people. They take great pride in investing in their team and strive to continually grow and improve their company and culture.

They love and are passionate about what they do. Their mission is to go above and beyond for each other and their customers. Their teams are creative, smart and talented, which makes each project exciting. You will have plenty of guidance and support to help them continue moving their impactful technology to the next level.

The Position:

This is a hands-on individual contributor role for an Electrical Engineer with comprehensive RF power experience to design high power (up to few kilowatts) RF power sources for molecular gas laser products. The successful candidate will take technical ownership for the full product life cycle of RF Source designs and provide production support for all of our RF sources and electronics products working closely with all the appropriate cross-functional resources within the company and outside the company e.g. vendors, customers and other collaborators. This position offers the opportunity to potentially grow into a leadership role of a small team.

What Success Looks Like:

  • Develop RF power designs that meet efficiency, stability, EMC, thermal, reliability, manufacturability, and serviceability requirements.
  • Translate product and system needs to clear RF specifications, design tradeoffs, test plans, and verification evidence.
  • Bring proof of concept and prototype designs through lab validation with disciplined measurement, documentation, and risk-based decision making.
  • Improve RF design quality through practical failure analysis, clear design reviews, and reusable engineering knowledge.
  • Possess a strong team driven attitude and an ability to face inward and outward in your daily interactions.

Primary Duties:

  • Design, simulate, model, and validate RF, analog, and mixed mode circuits and systems, with a focus on high power RF amplifiers from 100 W to multi kilowatt levels in the 10s to 100s MHz range, matching networks, combiners, VSWR/protection circuits, power oscillators, and related CO2 laser subsystems.
  • Develop and own proof of concept and prototype designs, including requirements definition, circuit analysis and simulation, schematic capture, PCB layout guidance, lab bring up, troubleshooting, optimization, and documentation.
  • Analyze high power RF behavior in real operating conditions, including nonlinear amplifier behavior, impedance variation, plasma/load interaction, thermal constraints, layout parasitic, EMC behavior, and failure modes.
  • Translate product and system requirements into well-defined technical specifications, test plans, design review material, verification evidence, and risk mitigation plans.
  • Conduct RF measurements and validation using vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, power meters, oscilloscopes, directional couplers, RF loads, thermal instrumentation, and related RF measurement equipment.
  • Identify and resolve RF design challenges to improve efficiency, stability, reliability, manufacturability, serviceability, and long-term product performance.
  • Collaborate with cross functional teams, including optical, mechanical, manufacturing, quality, service, suppliers, and customers, to support integration and successful product launches.
  • Contribute to technical documentation, design standards, lessons learned, and knowledge sharing that improve RF design rigor within the team.

Core Job Requirements:

  • M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering with a minimum of 5 years of relevant experience, or B.Sc. with more than 7 years of relevant experience. Equivalent depth may be considered for candidates with strong RF design ownership and hands on product development experience. Demonstrated hands on ownership of RF power design through at least one meaningful lifecycle phase, such as concept development, prototype validation, product release, design continuity, or significant redesign.
  • Strong understanding and practical application of circuit theory, RF power amplifier design, impedance matching, RF measurements, thermal constraints, layout parasitics, and high-power implementation limits.
  • Experience with RF power amplifier topologies and practical implementation challenges, including Class E, Class F, inverse Class F, matching networks, device limitations, load sensitivity, and high-power RF measurement.
  • Act independently to investigate difficult technical problems, define an engineering approach, execute simulation and bench work, and communicate clear conclusions and recommendations.
  • Experience with EDA tools for schematic capture and PCB layout, such as Altium.
  • Experience with RF simulation software, such as ADS or AWR.
  • Working knowledge of designing and testing for EMC or similar regulatory requirements in high power electronic products.
  • Proficiency with lab test equipment, including vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, power meters, oscilloscopes, and related RF measurement equipment.
  • Strong interpersonal skills, with excellent written and verbal communication abilities and disciplined technical documentation.

Highly Desirable Additional Skills/Experience:

  • In depth understanding of physical phenomena involved in high power and high frequency circuit design, including nonlinear behavior, thermal behavior, parasitic, and load dependent performance.
  • Experience with RF driven lasers, CO2 or other gas laser systems, plasma loads, or other high power industrial RF applications.
  • Experience taking an RF design from concept through qualification, release, or product lifecycle support.
  • Experience debugging high power RF failures in the lab or in released products.
  • Experience with microwave engineering concepts, including distributed circuits and transmission lines.
  • Familiarity with synthesizers, PLLs, mixers, switching power supplies, and other adjacent RF/analog building blocks.
  • Ability to interact with suppliers and external partners to support product quality, component selection, compliance, and project execution.
  • Experience using Product Lifecycle Management tools, such as Agile.
  • Commitment to scientific rigor, technical documentation quality, knowledge sharing, and individual skills advancement within the company's technical team.

Company attributes our client’s team love:

  • Opportunity to work in a state-of-the art facility.
  • Great benefits including medical/dental/vision, short- and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, and 401K with a match
  • Flexible spending account
  • 17 days of PTO per year, and PTO increases with tenure
  • Eight paid holidays
  • We support learning and have educational assistance programs
  • Fitness reimbursement
  • All employees are eligible for profit sharing in addition to their base pay
  • Stocked kitchen with complimentary snacks
  • Focus on work-life balance to promote success in and out of the workplace
  • Family-oriented team events
  • Free parking

RA’s client is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or other classes protected by law.


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