Staff Engineer- Electrical

About Vector Atomic

Vector Atomic, an IonQ company, is building quantum technology to transform navigation, timing, geophysical exploration, and telecommunications. Our team of engineers, scientists, software developers, and operations professionals works together to solve complex challenges and turn bold ideas into real-world solutions. We value collaboration, curiosity, and diverse perspectives, and we give every team member the opportunity to make an immediate impact while growing their skills. If you’re excited to work on breakthrough technology in a fast-paced, hands-on environment, we’d love to hear from you.

Location: This role is based onsite at our office in Pleasanton, CA.
Travel: Up to 5%
Job ID: 1644

The Role

As a Staff Engineer - Electrical, you will be a cornerstone of our multidisciplinary engineering team, leading the design and development of cutting-edge electronics for next-generation quantum sensors. This high-impact role requires a blend of technical mastery and creative problem-solving to architect complex PCB Assemblies featuring FPGAs, MCUs, Mixed-Signal, and RF circuits. You will oversee the entire product lifecycle—from conceptualizing high-level architectures to hands-on troubleshooting—ensuring that our groundbreaking quantum instruments meet rigorous performance and quality standards. We are looking for an agile, mentor-minded leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment and is passionate about translating complex physics requirements into robust hardware reality.

Responsibilities

• Architectural Leadership: Lead high-level electrical architecture for quantum sensors, balancing complex trade-offs between size, weight, power, and performance (SWaPC).
• End-to-End PCB Development: Own the full development cycle, including requirement gathering, schematic capture, layout design, fabrication coordination, and performance verification.
• Technical Mentorship: Serve as a technical guide for the electrical engineering team, conducting rigorous design reviews and establishing hardware development best practices.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with physicists and mechanical, software, and optical engineers to translate system requirements into precision electronic designs.
• System Integration & Testing: Assist with board bring-up, debugging, and system-level integration to ensure all instrument specifications are met.
• Manufacturing Support: Support production by troubleshooting issues, developing test verification procedures, and optimizing boards for yield, quality, and testability.
• Continuous Improvement: Drive the evolution of engineering procedures and refine PCB designs to enhance instrument performance.
• Documentation & Compliance: Maintain precise design records within a cloud-based PLM system, managing revisions and Engineering Change Orders (ECOs).

Requirements

• Education & Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering (or related field) with 8–12 years of experience, or a Master’s degree with 8+ years of experience. 
• To comply with the US export control laws, Vector Atomic employees must be U.S. citizens (born or naturalized), lawful U.S. permanent residents (i.e. green card holders), and certain categories of refugees, and asylees.
• Design Expertise: At least 5 years of professional experience developing complex, mixed-signal PCBA designs using professional ECAD tools.
• Technical Proficiency: * Expertise in high-density PCB design (fine-pitch BGAs, high-speed differential pairs, and mixed-signal architectures).
• Deep understanding of system-level design for programmable devices including SoCs, FPGAs, and MCUs.
• Proven ability to design precision electronics with strict noise and ripple specifications.
• Mastery of controlled impedance structures, signal integrity, power distribution networks, and EMI/EMC-aware layout practices.
• Lab Skills: Proficiency in a laboratory environment, including the use of standard electronic instrumentation for testing and hardware debugging.
• Operational Tools: Experience using PLM systems to manage designs and ECOs.
• Communication: Strong written and verbal communication skills with a proven ability to collaborate across diverse engineering disciplines.

Preferred Qualifications

• Software Mastery: Advanced expertise in Altium Designer for schematic capture, layout, library management, and output generation.
• Specialized Circuitry: Experience designing and implementing RF circuits on traditional PCBs or ceramic substrates.
• Photonic Integration: Previous experience integrating electronics with high-precision components like lasers, AOMs, and photodetectors.
• Thermal Engineering: Knowledge of thermal analysis, including the use of heatsinking, copper pours, thermal vias, and component derating.
• ASIC Knowledge: Foundational skills in defining, simulating, and verifying ASIC designs.
• Industry Background: Professional experience in the precision sensor sector, specifically with atomic clocks or Inertial Navigation Systems (INS).

**Benefits will be provided by Vector Atomic, an IonQ Company, and will differ from the benefits listed on the IonQ website.** 

Benefits

Vector Atomic values teamwork, open and honest discourse, and work-life balance. We offer competitive compensation and benefits including:

• Platinum-level family health coverage (medical, dental, vision)
• Health and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Employer 401(k) contributions
• 20 days of paid time off & 11 paid holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Fully stocked kitchen

The approximate base salary range for this position is $163,430 to $213,972 per year. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity and benefits.  It's atypical to be hired at the top end of this range for the role, as actual pay is based on several factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience level.