Company Description: Ci4 builds autonomous platforms and the AI autonomy stack that runs them, for maritime and land missions where the work is complex, dangerous or repetitive. The electronics inside those platforms have to survive vibration, salt, heat and power that is never as clean as the datasheet assumes.

We are looking for a PCB Design Engineer who is comfortable on both sides of the board: high-speed digital around compute and sensor interfaces, and RF for communications and telemetry links. You will own boards end to end, from schematic through layout, simulation, bring-up and environmental testing, working shoulder to shoulder with the embedded firmware and systems teams.

Role Description

Design schematics and multi-layer PCB layouts for compute carriers, sensor interface boards, power distribution, motor/actuator drivers and RF front ends.
Handle high-speed digital routing and signal integrity: DDR, Ethernet (including 1G/10G), USB, PCIe, MIPI/CSI, LVDS, CAN and serial buses, with attention to impedance control, length matching, return paths and stackup.
Design RF sections and antenna feed networks for telemetry, GNSS, datalink and acoustic/sonar support electronics; manage impedance matching, filtering, shielding and isolation from noisy digital and power domains.
Run pre- and post-layout simulation: SI/PI analysis, power integrity and decoupling strategy, thermal checks, and S-parameter/EM simulation for RF structures.
Design power trees for battery and vehicle-bus powered systems, including DC-DC conversion, sequencing, protection, and EMI/EMC-conscious layout.
Own the manufacturing package: BOM, component selection with an eye on lead times and availability, DFM/DFA review, fabrication and assembly notes, and working directly with fab houses and CMs.
Do the hands-on part: rework and assembly of prototypes, bring-up with scopes, VNAs, spectrum analysers and logic analysers, and debugging boards that do not behave.
Support environmental and qualification testing: vibration, shock, thermal cycling, ingress and EMC pre-compliance, and feed the findings back into the next revision.
Work closely with the embedded team on pin mapping, boot and debug interfaces, test points and board bring-up sequences, so firmware is not blocked by hardware surprises.
Maintain clean documentation: revision control of design data, ECOs, test reports and as-built records.

What we're looking for:

5+ years of professional PCB design experience covering schematic capture, multi-layer layout, bring-up and test.
Demonstrated work on both high-speed digital and RF designs; you can explain trade-offs you made on a real board, not just in theory.
Strong command of at least one professional EDA toolchain (Altium Designer, Cadence Allegro/OrCAD, or KiCad) including constraint-driven layout.
- Practical understanding of signal integrity, power integrity, grounding, shielding and EMI/EMC mitigation.
Experience with simulation tools for SI/PI and/or RF/EM (HyperLynx, SIwave, ADS, HFSS, CST, Qucs or equivalent).
- Comfortable with lab work: oscilloscopes, VNAs, spectrum analysers, logic analysers, soldering and fine-pitch rework.
Experience taking designs through fabrication and assembly with external vendors, including DFM feedback and BOM management.
Ability to read microcontroller/SoC datasheets and reference designs and collaborate with firmware engineers on bring-up.
Bachelor's or Master's in Electronics, Electrical, Communications Engineering or equivalent practical experience.

Nice to have:

Boards for UAV, UGV, USV, UUV or other unmanned/robotic platforms.
Rugged or defense-oriented design: conformal coating, potting, connector selection, sealed enclosures, MIL-STD-461/810 exposure.
Antenna design or integration experience, including GNSS and sub-GHz/2.4 GHz/5 GHz links.
Underwater electronics: pressure housings, feedthroughs, acoustic transducer drive and receive chains.
Experience with SoM integration (NVIDIA Jetson, i.MX, Zynq/Kria) and custom carrier board design.
Familiarity with mechanical CAD collaboration (STEP exchange, enclosure and connector fit checks).
Exposure to low-volume production ramp, test jig design and board-level functional test.

About Ci4:

Building Intelligent, Unmanned Platforms

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Ci4 builds autonomous platforms and the AI autonomy stack that runs them to handle complex, dangerous or repetitive tasks. Our solutions span a range of applications in the maritime and land domains.

Printed Circuit Board Designer