PCB Design & Validation Engineer

Cspeed IO is a stealth start up backed by Sutter Hills Ventures and Atreides Capital - headquartered in Palo Alto, CA.  Our executive team has a demonstrated track record of building and scaling category-defining semiconductor and infrastructure businesses at companies like Broadcom, Lumentum, Tesla, Apple, Samsung, Intel, and VMware.

Cspeed IO is developing next-generation optical semiconductor solutions for the AI infrastructure market, focused on enabling true “scale-up” architectures.  Our mission is to replace traditional copper interconnects with advanced fiber-optic technologies that overcome the limitations of existing optics solutions and architectures.

We are seeking an experienced PCB Design & Validation Engineer to own the design, fabrication, and validation of test and evaluation boards for AI datacenter optical transceivers. You will work across the full board lifecycle—from schematic capture and layout through board bring-up, signal integrity validation, and production support. 

This role sits at the intersection of hardware design and lab validation. You will collaborate closely with our electrical, firmware, and optical engineering teams to build the platforms that enable development, characterization, and production testing of our transceiver modules. We are early-stage, so you will have significant ownership and the opportunity to define how we approach PCB design and hardware validation. 

Key Responsibilities 
PCB Design & Layout 
•    Own schematic capture, component selection, and PCB layout for test fixtures, evaluation boards, and development platforms 
•    Design multi-layer, high-speed PCBs with controlled impedance, high-density connectors, and mixed-signal considerations 
•    Define stack-ups, power delivery networks, and grounding strategies appropriate for high-speed serial links 
•    Manage design rule checks (DRC), generate fabrication outputs (Gerbers, drill files, assembly drawings), and coordinate with board fabrication and assembly vendors 
•    Maintain schematic libraries, footprint libraries, and design templates 
Board Bring-Up & Validation 
•    Lead board bring-up for new designs: power sequencing verification, clock validation, interface testing 
•    Perform signal integrity measurements (eye diagrams, S-parameters, TDR) on high-speed interfaces 
•    Debug hardware issues using oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, logic analyzers, VNAs, and other lab instrumentation 
•    Validate thermal performance and power delivery under operational conditions 
•    Develop and document board validation test procedures and acceptance criteria 
Cross-Functional Collaboration 
•    Work with electrical engineers to translate circuit designs into optimized board layouts 
•    Partner with firmware team to support hardware bring-up and debug 
•    Collaborate with optical and algorithms teams to build test platforms that meet characterization requirements 
•    Support production team with design-for-manufacturability (DFM) and design-for-test (DFT) guidance 
Documentation & Process 
•    Document board designs, validation results, and known issues 
•    Establish and maintain PCB design standards and review checklists 
•    Track board revisions, ECOs, and BOM management 

Required Qualifications 
•    7+ years of experience in PCB design and/or hardware validation for high-speed digital systems 
•    Proficiency with PCB design tools (Altium Designer, Cadence Allegro, or equivalent) 
•    Experience designing multi-layer boards (8+ layers) with controlled impedance and high-speed signal routing 
•    Hands-on experience with lab instrumentation: oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, TDR/VNA 
•    Strong understanding of signal integrity principles: impedance matching, crosstalk, return loss, power integrity 
•    Experience with board bring-up, power sequencing, and systematic hardware debug 
•    Familiarity with high-speed serial interfaces (PCIe, Ethernet, or similar) 
•    BS/MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent 

Preferred Qualifications 
•    Experience with optical transceiver modules, pluggable optics, or high-speed interconnects 
•    Familiarity with SI/PI simulation tools (HyperLynx, Ansys HFSS, Keysight ADS, or similar) 
•    Experience with flex-rigid PCB design or high-density interconnect (HDI) technology 
•    Background in RF or microwave PCB design techniques 
•    Experience with automated test equipment (ATE) or custom test fixture development 
•    Python scripting for test automation or data analysis 
•    Experience managing vendor relationships for PCB fabrication and assembly 
•    Experience in a startup or fast-paced development environment 

What You’ll Work On (First 6 Months) 
•    Review existing test board designs and identify improvement opportunities 
•    Design and bring up evaluation boards for next-generation transceiver prototypes 
•    Establish PCB design standards, library management, and review processes 
•    Build out signal integrity validation capabilities in the lab 
•    Collaborate with firmware and optical teams to define test platform requirements 

Technical Environment 
•    EDA Tools: Altium Designer or Cadence Allegro (primary), SI/PI simulation tools 
•    Lab Equipment: High-bandwidth oscilloscopes, VNA, TDR, spectrum analyzers, logic analyzers 
•    Interfaces: High-speed SerDes, I2C, SPI, UART, power management ICs 
•    Board Types: Test fixtures, evaluation boards, development platforms for optical transceivers 
•    Tools: Git, Python (scripting/automation), JIRA or equivalent