Principal Engineer, RF Power Amplifier Architect - Arlington Heights, IL, United States
Originally posted 5 August 2026 by the employer. Relisted by the employer on 5 August 2026.
About the role
This role is responsible for the leadership and design of advanced RF power amplifier platforms for cellular and Wifi front end applications. The focus is on the research and development of power amplifiers in various frequency bands using SOI and GaAs semiconductor processes.
What you'll do
- Develop novel architectures, circuits, devices, and methods for high-performance RF Power Amplifiers and transmit chains using co-design and co-simulation.
- Serve as the company-wide technical authority on RF Power Amplifiers.
- Drive company-level R&D investment strategy, portfolio prioritization, and executive technical decision support for RF Power Amplifiers.
- Provide technical leadership for advanced RF power amplifier platforms for cellular and Wifi front end applications.
- Drive advanced power amplifier design using multiple process technologies and supply modulations, including envelope tracking.
- Technically execute PA research, building proof-of-concept prototypes, and developing successful technologies into high-volume products.
What you'll need
- 15+ years of RF FEM product development experience.
- 5+ years of direct experience with GaAs-based power amplifier product development.
- At least 5 years of advanced development or research experience directly related to mobile power amplifier and/or transmitters.
- Detailed knowledge and experience with design of envelope tracking (ET) PA for mobile applications.
- Direct hands-on experience with the design of highly efficient and linear power amplifiers operating between 600 MHz and 20 GHz.
- Experience with transistor level IC design and layout in multiple technology nodes, including GaAs HBT, CMOS-SOI, SiGe, GaN.
- Understanding of WIFI and/or cellular standard system knowledge and key performance metrics.
- Knowledge of IC fabrication and its impact on circuit performance.
- Understanding of non-linear effects in transistors.
- Knowledge of basic analog bias and control circuits and their impact on overall RF system.
- Experience with EM (Electromagnetic) modelling of high frequency RFIC’s and PCB’s.
- Familiarity with analog & RF IC layout techniques.
- Extensive IC Tape-out experience.
- Strong experience in design, debug, and optimization of RFICs in the lab using standard lab equipment.
- Hands-on use of RF measurement equipment to validate and correlate performance metrics such as ACP/ACLR, EVM, IP3, NF, and gain.
- Proficiency with software tools: Virtuoso, Cadence Spectre, Keysight ADS, EM software, Matlab, JMP.
- Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering (or equivalent field).
Nice to have
- Ph. D. in Electrical Engineering (or equivalent field) preferred.
Skills: RF power amplifier, cellular and Wi-Fi, SOI and GaAs, envelope tracking, RFIC design, 5G NR
This role has been open 173 days — well above the 50-day median for RF/Wireless Engineering roles.
RF/Wireless Engineering · RF Frontend
|
Open roles in category
264
|
Median days open
50 d
|
Median salary
$162k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | pSemi | All employers we track in this specialty (264 roles · 34 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 8 | 264 |
| Open roles in the wider Analog & Mixed-Signal family | 9 | 1385 · 106 employers |
| Median days open | 58 d | 50 d (+8 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $162k |
Skills observed across this category: RF power amplifier, cellular and Wi-Fi, SOI and GaAs, envelope tracking, RFIC design, 5G NR
Who's hiring in this category
- QORVO · 46 open roles · median 34 d
- Skyworks · 41 open roles · median 39 d
- Keysight Technologies · 24 open roles · median 173 d
- Qualcomm · 24 open roles · median 101 d
- Apple · 19 open roles · median 19 d
- Analog Devices · 12 open roles · median 56 d
How we counted: 264 open RF/Wireless Engineering (RF Frontend) roles from 34 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 4 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 Analog & Mixed-Signal family row. Figures refresh nightly.