Design Characterization Engineer - Irvine, California, United States
$110,600 - $140,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 6 April 2026 by the employer.
About the role
As a Design Characterization Engineer at OmniVision, you will characterize and optimize CMOS image sensor performance across engineering disciplines. The role focuses on pixel-level, analog, and digital subsystems to evaluate sensor behavior and transition new designs into production.
What you'll do
- Bring up new silicon and validate CMOS image sensor functionality and performance in partnership with design engineers. - Develop and refine characterization methodologies to evaluate image sensor behavior and collect performance data. - Analyze pixel-level, analog, and digital subsystems to identify fundamental performance limitations and propose technical improvements. - Collaborate with analog and digital design teams to tune performance parameters and resolve system-level issues. - Work cross-functionally with process, applications, production, and quality teams to transition new designs into production and resolve yield, reliability, and product quality issues.
What you'll need
- MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering or a related field. - Strong expertise in CMOS analog, mixed-signal, and/or digital design, along with a solid understanding of semiconductor device physics. - Proficiency with Python and/or MATLAB for data analysis and automation. - Experience or strong interest in hands-on electrical testing using oscilloscopes and other lab instrumentation. - Strong communication skills to work effectively in multidisciplinary teams.
Skills: CMOS image sensor, silicon bring-up, characterization methodologies, data analysis, oscilloscopes, semiconductor device physics
This role has been open 191 days — well above the 73-day median for Post-Silicon Validation roles.
Post-Silicon Validation · Design Verification
|
Open roles in category
113
|
Median days open
73 d
|
Median salary
$185k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | OmniVision | All employers we track in this specialty (113 roles · 31 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 1 | 113 |
| Open roles in the wider Silicon Validation & Test family | 11 | 2235 · 112 employers |
| Median days open | 191 d | 73 d (+118 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $185k |
Skills observed across this category: CMOS image sensor, silicon bring-up, characterization methodologies, data analysis, oscilloscopes, semiconductor device physics
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm · 19 open roles · median 46 d
- AMD · 16 open roles · median 73 d
- NVIDIA · 11 open roles · median 79 d
- Graphcore · 10 open roles · median 130 d
- Altera · 5 open roles · median 66 d
- Micron Technology · 5 open roles · median 220 d
How we counted: 113 open Post-Silicon Validation (Design Verification) roles from 31 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 25 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Silicon Validation & Test family row. Figures refresh nightly.