Senior Staff Engineer, Applications Engineering

pSemi Corporation is a Murata company driving semiconductor integration. pSemi builds on Peregrine Semiconductor’s 30-year legacy of technology advancements and strong IP portfolio but with a new mission—to enhance Murata’s world-class capabilities with high-performance semiconductors. With a strong foundation in RF integration, pSemi’s product portfolio now spans power management, connected sensors, optical transceivers, antenna tuning and RF frontends. These intelligent and efficient semiconductors enable advanced modules for smartphones, base stations, personal computers, electric vehicles, data centers, IoT devices and healthcare. From headquarters in San Diego and offices around the world, pSemi’s team explores new ways to make electronics for the connected world smaller, thinner, faster and better.

Possible Locations
San Diego, CA
San Jose, CA

Job Summary

This position is responsible for providing technical and strategic support to pSemi’s customers for RFIC products within a globally defined region. The candidate will be required to interface with customers to support design activity and new product definitions.  The candidate will also be required to review and recommend improvements to existing customer designs. The job covers all aspects of addressing technical, quality and general inquiries from customers as well as educating customers about pSemi products and also providing customer and market feedback to the product lines.

Roles & Responsibilities

This position has responsibility for:

• Providing technical customer support in a designated geographical region and/or product line. This includes but it is not limited to:
  • Interfacing with customers to support all design activity using pSemi products
  • Reviewing and recommending improvements to existing customer designs
  • Collaborating with the Product Management team on technical issues and new product applications
  • Collaborating with the Sales team on technical issues and new product applications
• Performing advanced measurements in an RF laboratory at a component level and understand the implications at a system level
• Developing reference designs and writing application notes
• Providing feedback to Marketing and Design Engineering on product improvements
• Attending conferences and/or supporting Marketing Communications
• Able to mentor engineers and technicians
• Develops innovative solutions to unique problems
• Effectively train sales engineers inside and outside pSemi’s direct sales organization
• Staying abreast of current trends within the wireless industry and related customer implementation plans

Competency Requirements

In order to perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

• Critical Thinking: Skilled at finding logical flaws in arguments and plans; identifies problems and solutions that others might miss; provides detailed insight and constructive criticism into problems and complex situations
• Working with Ambiguity: Actively drives progress in the face of poorly defined situations and/or unclear goals; able to work effectively with limited or partial information. Able to define and justify the required course of action and then implement it.
• Displaying Technical Expertise: Keeps his/her technical skills current; effectively applies specialized knowledge and skills to perform work tasks; understands and masters the technical skills, knowledge, and tasks associated with his/her job; shares and educates to improve technical expertise of others.
• Championing Customer Needs: Calls attention to issues that impact customer satisfaction and provides detailed evidence support this; Views thing from the perspective of customers; encourages people to think about customers when making decisions
• Demonstrating Initiative: Takes action on his/her own without being prompted; handles problems independently; able to resolve issues without relying on extensive help from others; does more than is expected or asked

Minimum Qualifications (Experience and Skills)

• Typically requires 8 to 12+ years of experience preferably in an RF/microwave design engineering environment, depending on education level and experience
• Experience with antenna design, implementation, and impedance and aperture tuning techniques
• Working understanding of commercial wireless RF requirements such as 3GPP and Wi-Fi
• Expertise in EM simulation and detailed 3D physical structure assessments
• Hands-on experience in using software tools for PCB Layout, Schematic and Simulation such as Mentor, Allegro, OrCAD, and ADS, and hardware tools such as Network Analyzers, Spectrum Analyzers and Signal Generators, for analyzing RF circuits and systems
• Extensive knowledge of RF measurement techniques including S-parameters, noise figure, IP3, power compression, ACPR and standard specific requirements with a strong familiarity with lab test equipment associated with these measurements
• Technical writing skills for application notes and/or customer documentation
• Excellent communication, organizational, and problem solving skills
• Good oral communication in English
• Good presentation skills; ability to present to a large audience of peers
• Demonstrated ability to work well with customers, promotes a positive image of the company, strives to solve issues raised by customers
• Self-starter, be able to work with minimal supervision with demonstrated ability to take action
• Must be willing to apply engineering knowledge and actively gain experience outside of RF/Microwave to support pSemi’s expanding portfolio
• Willingness to travel locally several times per month and internationally at least twice a year

Preferred Qualifications

• A passion to help secure multi-billion dollar design wins
• Comprehensive experience with all RF building blocks including, but not limited to LNA’s, mixers, attenuators, synthesizers, filters, amplifiers, power amplifiers, power control, switches and ADC’s
• Thorough understanding of commercial wireless RF requirements such as 3GPP and Wi-Fi

Education Requirements

• BSEE required
• MSEE is preferred

Work Environment

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. This position requires the ability to occasionally lift office products and supplies, up to 20 pounds.

$145,504.79 - $189,166.71 per year

pSemi Corporation supports a diverse workforce and is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for applicants and employees. pSemi does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), sex/gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions or breastfeeding), gender identity, gender expression, genetic information, national origin (including language use restrictions and possession of a driver’s license issued under Vehicle Code section 12801.9), ancestry, physical or mental disability, legally-protected medical condition, military or veteran status (including “protected veterans” under applicable affirmative action laws), marital status, sexual orientation, or any other basis protected by local, state or federal laws applicable to the Company. pSemi also prohibits discrimination based on the perception that an employee or applicant has any of those characteristics, or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics.
Note: The Peregrine Semiconductor name, Peregrine Semiconductor logo and UltraCMOS are registered trademarks and the pSemi name, pSemi logo, HaRP and DuNE are trademarks of pSemi Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. pSemi products are protected under one or more of the following U.S. Patents: http://patents.psemi.com