Senior Principal AE-RF Design Engineer
Originally posted 3 August 2026 by the employer.
About the role
This role involves designing and developing high-frequency (30 GHz+) transceivers and components for 5G/6G communications, aerospace radar, and automotive sensors. The position drives the full product lifecycle, addressing challenges such as parasitic extraction, thermal management, and high-frequency electromagnetic modeling.
What you'll do
- Design custom blocks including Power Amplifiers (PAs), Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs), mixers, and Voltage-Controlled Oscillators (VCOs).
- Design Tx and Rx signal chains for noise, figure, linearity dynamic range, and power efficiency.
- Develop RF PLL designs, including Sigma delta and FRAC-N PLL, focusing on phase noise, spurious signals, and settling time.
- Analyze RF transceiver architectures, direct-conversion topologies, and phased-array systems.
- Conduct signal chain analysis and evaluate system figures of merit such as ACPR, EVM, and BER.
- Perform lab characterization using high-frequency equipment like spectrum analyzers, VNAs, and probe stations.
What you'll need
- Deep expertise in designing custom blocks such as Power Amplifiers (PAs), Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs), mixers, and Voltage-Controlled Oscillators (VCOs).
- Deep expertise in designing Tx and Rx signal chains.
- Deep experience in RF PLL design including Sigma delta and FRAC-N PLL.
- Proficiency in RF transceiver architectures, direct-conversion topologies, and phased-array systems.
- Hands-on experience on advanced nodes using RF SOI process.
- Mastery of EDA software environments, including VSS, Cadence Virtuoso, VRF flows, EMX, Clarity, Layout MXL, QRC, and Pegasus.
- M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (or a closely related discipline).
- 10+ years of industrial experience taking designs from conception through tape-out to final lab validation.
Skills: Millimeter-Wave IC designer, transceivers, Power Amplifiers, LNAs, mixers, VCOs
This role has been open 62 days — well above 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 | Cadence Design Systems | All employers we track in this specialty (265 roles · 34 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 1 | 265 |
| Open roles in the wider Analog & Mixed-Signal family | 29 | 1400 · 106 employers |
| Median days open | 62 d | 51 d (+11 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $162k |
Skills observed across this category: Millimeter-Wave IC designer, transceivers, Power Amplifiers, LNAs, mixers, VCOs
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.