Lead IC Applications Engineer - Santa Clara, CA, United States
Originally posted 13 October 2026 by the employer.
Work with RFIC’s > 20GHz and RF/mmwave wafer probers.
About the role
This role involves the hands-on evaluation of prototype RF/mmwave silicon and providing technical support to internal and external customers.
What you'll do
- Evaluate prototype silicon including electro-optical measurements.
- Automate and control RF/mmwave wafer prober and measurement equipment.
- Develop product collateral such as datasheets, evaluation boards, and evaluation software.
- Provide technical support (pre- and post-sale) to internal and external customers.
- Contribute to new product definitions in collaboration with other disciplines.
- Collaborate with corporate cross-functional teams on advanced developments.
What you'll need
- B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering + 10 years of experience, or M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering + 7 years of experience, or PhD in Electrical Engineering + 5 years of experience.
- Experience with wafer probing of RFIC’s > 20GHz.
- Experience with measurement automation in python, C or similar.
- Experience with creation of IC product collateral (datasheets, evaluation boards, etc.).
- Familiarity with RF board level design & layout practices.
- Experience with technical customer support.
- Ability to perform hands-on RFIC (20GHz+) measurements of CMOS and SiGe BICMOS RF/mmW amplifiers.
- Understanding of S-parameters, transmission lines, linearity measurements and wafer RF probing.
- Experience with lab equipment such as VNAs, PNAs, Spectrum Analyzers, AWGs, DCAs.
- Experience with scripting languages such as Python.
Nice to have
- Understanding of wired and optical communication systems & signal processing (FFE equalizers, communication channel SNR analysis, PAM4, QPSK, 16QAM).
- Basic understanding of optical devices (lasers, Mach-Zehnder modulators, EMLs, silicon photonics).
- Optical Coherent system knowledge.
- Basic knowledge of microcontroller, DSP, and/or FPGA programming.
Skills: RFIC, mmwave, wafer probing, S-parameters, technical support
This role has been open 1 day — well below the 48-day median for Applications FAE roles.
Applications FAE · RF Frontend
|
Open roles in category
68
|
Median days open
48 d
|
Median salary
$144k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Coherent Corp | All employers we track in this specialty (68 roles · 17 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 2 | 68 |
| Median days open | 1 d | 48 d (−47 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $144k |
Skills observed across this category: RFIC, mmwave, wafer probing, S-parameters, technical support
Who's hiring in this category
- Keysight Technologies · 20 open roles · median 48 d
- QORVO · 12 open roles · median 44 d
- Analog Devices · 9 open roles · median 109 d
- Texas Instruments · 7 open roles · median 64 d
- Silicon Labs · 4 open roles · median 89 d
- GlobalFoundries · 2 open roles · median 75 d
How we counted: 68 open Applications FAE (RF Frontend) roles from 17 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 14 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. Figures refresh nightly.