Senior PA Design Engineer - San Jose, CA, United States
$115,600 - $150,500 USD yearly
Originally posted 18 August 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role involves the design and development of high-efficiency and high-linearity Cellular Power Amplifiers (PAs) and RF Front-End Modules (FEMs) for 5G NR and 6G smartphones. You will manage the entire process from initial PA architecture definition to high-volume manufacturing.
What you'll do
- Design and develop PAs using GaAs HBT technologies to meet 5G NR and 6G requirements, focusing on linearity, modulation bandwidth, power, and efficiency.
- Lead integration of PA dies into multi-chip modules (MCM), optimizing for size, cost, and thermal performance.
- Conduct 3D electromagnetic (EM) simulations using HFSS and circuit-level simulations in ADS.
- Collaborate with filter (SAW/BAW), packaging, and systems engineers to optimize top-level module performance.
- Document and present results to internal and external customers.
What you'll need
- MSEE with at least 3 years of industry experience, or a Ph.D. degree.
- Strong understanding of RF fundamentals, including S-parameters, impedance matching, stability, and linearity.
- Extensive experience in RF circuit design using ADS, HFSS, and Cadence.
- Solid background in RF measurements and characterization.
Skills: PAs, GaAs HBT, RF fundamentals, ADS, HFSS
This role has been open 40 days — below the 46-day median for RF/Wireless Engineering roles.
RF/Wireless Engineering · RF Frontend
|
Open roles in category
267
|
Median days open
46 d
|
Median salary
$164k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | QORVO | All employers we track in this specialty (267 roles · 34 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 44 | 267 |
| Open roles in the wider Analog & Mixed-Signal family | 70 | 1364 · 107 employers |
| Median days open | 29 d | 46 d (−17 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $164k |
Skills observed across this category: PAs, GaAs HBT, RF fundamentals, ADS, HFSS
Who's hiring in this category
- QORVO (this employer) · 45 open roles · median 30 d
- Skyworks · 42 open roles · median 34 d
- Qualcomm · 26 open roles · median 66 d
- Apple · 23 open roles · median 19 d
- Keysight Technologies · 23 open roles · median 180 d
- Analog Devices · 13 open roles · median 44 d
How we counted: 267 open RF/Wireless Engineering (RF Frontend) roles from 34 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 28 Sept 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.