copperhead
HardwareBengaluru, IndiaOn-siteFull-time

Senior AI PCB Design Engineer

Own production-grade multilayer boards from written brief to bring-up in KiCad, and turn the way you make those decisions into rules copperhead can check.

We need a senior PCB engineer who can own complex hardware projects from requirements and system architecture through schematic design, layout, simulation, fabrication, bring-up and validation. The boards span high-speed digital, RF, mixed-signal, power and embedded systems, they are designed natively in KiCad and copperhead is used across the whole workflow, so you would be designing real customer hardware and using the product on it every day.

The other half of the role is encoding how an experienced hardware engineer reasons about architecture, component selection, constraints, simulation, verification and manufacturability, so that copperhead makes better engineering decisions and can tell whether a board is ready to build. That means finding the failure modes in AI-generated hardware and working with the software and AI engineers to fix them systematically, which is slower and less glamorous than the layout work and is the part that changes the product. It is a hands-on role for someone who has shipped complex hardware and wants to help build the next generation of electronic design automation, full-time and on-site in Bengaluru.

What you would own

  • Own end-to-end development of complex multilayer PCBs, from requirements to manufacturing and validation.
  • Translate product requirements and written briefs into system architectures and detailed electrical specifications.
  • Design analog, digital, RF, mixed-signal and power circuits.
  • Design and modify production-grade boards natively in KiCad.
  • Define PCB stack-ups, impedance requirements, routing constraints and length-matching rules.
  • Work with high-speed interfaces such as PCIe, USB, DDR, MIPI CSI/DSI, Ethernet and other serial buses.
  • Design RF sections including matching networks, filters, antennas and RF front ends.
  • Design mixed-signal systems involving ADCs, DACs, sensors, analog front ends and precision measurement circuits.
  • Design power architectures including regulators, sequencing, protection, battery systems and high-current power distribution.
  • Perform circuit simulation, signal integrity, power integrity and RF/EM analysis where the design calls for it.
  • Conduct schematic, layout, ERC, DRC, DFM, DFT and design reviews.
  • Prepare BOMs, fabrication files, assembly files and production documentation.
  • Coordinate prototype fabrication and assembly.
  • Lead board bring-up, validation, debugging and design revisions.
  • Work directly with customers to understand requirements, constraints and existing hardware.
  • Use copperhead to design, document, simulate and verify real customer projects.
  • Bring PCB and electronics domain knowledge into copperhead’s AI workflows: how the system reasons about design decisions, constraints, trade-offs and verification.
  • Convert expert hardware engineering knowledge into structured rules, reference designs, evaluation benchmarks and automated verification workflows.
  • Develop engineering test cases and reference designs for evaluating AI-generated hardware.
  • Identify failure modes in AI-generated hardware and work with software and AI engineers to fix them systematically.
  • Work closely with software and AI engineers on schematic generation, placement, routing, simulation and verification capabilities.
  • Mentor engineers and contribute to copperhead’s open-source engineering ecosystem.

What we look for

  • Five or more years of professional electronics, PCB or hardware engineering experience.
  • Advanced, production-level KiCad experience.
  • You have taken complex multilayer boards from requirements through fabrication, assembly, bring-up and validation.
  • A strong foundation in analog, digital and mixed-signal circuit design.
  • Strong understanding of high-speed digital design, signal integrity and power integrity.
  • Experience with controlled-impedance routing, differential pairs, length matching and high-speed PCB constraints.
  • You have designed boards carrying PCIe, USB, DDR, MIPI, Ethernet or similar high-speed buses.
  • Practical RF design experience: impedance matching, transmission lines, filtering and noise mitigation.
  • Strong understanding of power-tree design, regulators, sequencing, protection and component selection.
  • Experience with EMI/EMC, DFM, DFT and reliability considerations.
  • You have debugged hardware with oscilloscopes, logic analysers, spectrum analysers, network analysers and laboratory power supplies.
  • You can troubleshoot complex hardware issues independently and own the engineering outcome.
  • Strong technical communication and documentation skills.
  • You work well with software and AI engineering teams.

A bachelor’s or master’s degree in electrical engineering, electronics engineering or a related field is welcome. Equivalent practical experience counts for just as much.

Nice to have

None of this is required.

  • System-on-Module carrier boards, embedded computing platforms or custom processor boards
  • PCIe, USB 3.x, DDR3/DDR4/LPDDR, MIPI CSI/DSI, Gigabit Ethernet and other high-speed interfaces
  • RF and wireless hardware, including antenna matching networks, RF front ends, impedance matching and filters
  • Mixed-signal systems combining precision analog circuitry, ADCs/DACs and high-speed digital
  • Compact, high-density multilayer boards: 6 to 12+ layers, HDI, microvias and fine-pitch BGA routing
  • Power electronics, battery systems, motor drives, DC-DC converters or high-current power distribution
  • Signal integrity, power integrity, EMI/EMC and thermal analysis
  • SPICE, RF/EM simulation, VNA measurements or automated hardware verification
  • Hardware for robotics, drones, industrial systems, automotive, medical devices, telecommunications or edge computing
  • Altium Designer or Cadence Allegro, in addition to KiCad
  • Embedded Linux, FPGA-based systems or complex SoCs
  • Taking hardware products from prototype through manufacturing and production
  • Working directly with customers on commercial hardware projects
  • Contributions to open-source hardware, EDA tooling or engineering automation
  • Collaborating with AI/ML teams or building AI-assisted engineering workflows
Apply for this role

The form asks for all of this, so have it to hand before you start. An application without KiCad samples cannot be assessed.

  • A short introduction
  • The most complex multilayer board you personally designed and brought up
  • Native KiCad screenshots or project samples, with confidential details removed
  • Board specifications: layer count, stack-up, interfaces and your exact contribution
  • The bring-up and validation work you performed, and what went wrong first
  • One design rule you follow routinely, and when it does not apply