Senior Electrical Engineer in San Francisco

Job Description About the role

We're partnering with a well-funded robotics startup building an integrated hardware and software platform for embodied AI. The team is developing a new of general-purpose robots alongside the software stack that runs them, with the goal of making robots far easier to build, program, and deploy. This is an early, high-ownership environment where your hardware ships on every unit.

We're looking for a Senior Electrical Engineer to design, develop, and validate the core electrical subsystems of general-purpose robot platforms. You will own power electronics, motor drive circuits, sensor integration, and PCB design, from schematic through bring-up to production-ready hardware.

This is a hands-on, high-ownership role. You will make architecture decisions, drive subsystems end to end, and be accountable for hardware that ships on every unit.

• Own end-to-end design of power electronics subsystems: battery management, power distribution, protection circuits, and DC-DC conversion
• Design and validate motor drive circuits for high-performance actuation, including FOC/BLDC/PMSM control topologies
• Design sensor integration circuits for IMUs, encoders, hall-effect sensors, force/torque sensors, and thermal sensors
• Create schematics and multi-layer PCB layouts using industry-standard EDA tools (e.g., Altium, Cadence Allegro, KiCad), owning the full cycle from concept through layout review, prototype bring-up, and production release
• Perform circuit simulation (LTspice or equivalent) and systematic hardware validation using oscilloscopes, current probes, power analyzers, and spectrum analyzers
• Apply EMI/EMC design principles from the start; support FCC, CE, and UL certification as the product moves toward commercial deployment
• Drive DFM/DFA decisions to ensure designs are manufacturable and testable at production scale
• Instrument boards and conduct board-level bring-up, power-on sequencing, and subsystem verification
• Collaborate daily with firmware engineers on hardware/software interfaces and with mechanical engineers on physical integration and thermal constraints
• Document designs with the rigor required for CM handoff and engineering review

• 5+ years of electrical engineering experience in robotics, industrial automation, automotive, or consumer electronics, with at least one product shipped to production
• Hands‑on PCB design experience in industry-standard EDA tools (Altium, Cadence Allegro, KiCad, or equivalent) for complex, multi-layer boards combining high-speed digital, power, and mixed-signal on the same design
• Proven experience designing power electronics: BMS, power distribution, protection circuits, or DC-DC conversion
• Motor drive design experience: BLDC, PMSM, or servo drive circuits, ideally with FOC topology
• Strong bench skills: oscilloscope, current probe, power analyzer, logic/spectrum analyzer, signal integrity debug
• Ability to read and interpret electronic circuit diagrams; comfortable integrating sensors and actuators
• Experience with DFM/DFA and working directly with contract manufacturers
• Experience designing complex multilayer PCBs (8+ layers), including controlled impedance routing, mixed-signal design, and high‑speed differential pairs

• Experience taking a product through FCC, CE, or UL certification, including EMC pre‑compliance testing
• Functional safety design experience (ISO 26262, IEC 61508, or equivalent)
• Familiarity with embedded firmware at the hardware/firmware boundary, enough to co‑debug with firmware engineers without needing translation
• Experience with high‑density or thermally‑constrained PCB layouts
• Background in production test fixture design and manufacturing ramp
• Proficiency in Python or similar scripting for test automation
• Hands‑on use of AI‑assisted EDA or coding tools in your design workflow