Principal RFIC Engineer - Seattle
Originally posted 28 August 2026 by the employer.
This role focuses on advanced beamformer integrated circuits at the heart of phased array solutions.
About the role
This role involves leading the technical direction for advanced beamformer integrated circuits within phased array systems, from architecture through silicon validation.
What you'll do
- Design RFIC beamformers and associated RF/mm-wave building blocks (phase shifters, attenuators, LNAs, PAs, mixers, switches) for phased array systems.
- Drive designs from specification and architecture definition through schematic, layout, tape-out, and silicon validation.
- Run circuit and system-level simulations covering linearity, noise, gain/phase control accuracy, and power.
- Collaborate with antenna, digital, and DSP teams to ensure RFIC performance meets full-system requirements.
- Support lab characterization, debug, and design iteration of fabricated parts.
- Define RFIC architectures and lead complex design challenges.
What you'll need
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
- 10+ years of relevant experience in RFIC or RF/mm-wave circuit design, with a track record of leading complex designs from architecture through silicon.
- Expert proficiency with industry-standard design and simulation tools (e.g., Cadence Virtuoso, Spectre, ADS, and EM simulators such as EMX, HFSS, or Momentum).
- Authoritative grounding in RF fundamentals: matching, noise, linearity, and S-parameters.
Nice to have
- MSc or PhD with a focus on RFIC design.
- Experience designing beamformers or phased array front-end ICs.
- Familiarity with mm-wave design and silicon technologies (SiGe BiCMOS, CMOS, GaAs/GaN).
- Experience taking designs through tape-out and post-silicon validation.
- Background in communications or radar system requirements.
Skills: RFIC, mm-wave, beamformers, phase shifters, LNAs, PAs
This role has been open 6 days — well below the 51-day median for RF/Wireless Engineering roles.
RF/Wireless Engineering · RF Frontend
|
Open roles in category
265
|
Median days open
51 d
|
Median salary
$162k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | Roguebeam | All employers we track in this specialty (265 roles · 34 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 6 | 265 |
| Open roles in the wider Analog & Mixed-Signal family | 6 | 1400 · 106 employers |
| Median days open | 6 d | 51 d (−45 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $162k |
Skills observed across this category: RFIC, mm-wave, beamformers, phase shifters, LNAs, PAs
Who's hiring in this category
- QORVO · 46 open roles · median 35 d
- Skyworks · 41 open roles · median 40 d
- Keysight Technologies · 24 open roles · median 174 d
- Qualcomm · 24 open roles · median 102 d
- Apple · 20 open roles · median 19 d
- Analog Devices · 12 open roles · median 57 d
How we counted: 265 open RF/Wireless Engineering (RF Frontend) roles from 34 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 5 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.