Senior Staff RF Switch Design Engineer - San Diego, United States

Originally posted 19 October 2026 by the employer.

Develop high-power microwave and millimeter-wave RF switches using Finwave's proprietary GaN-on-Silicon technology.

About the role

Finwave Semiconductor is seeking a Senior Staff RF Switch Design Engineer to lead the development of high-power microwave and millimeter-wave RF switches using proprietary GaN-on-Silicon technology. The role targets RF switch architectures with power levels greater than 100 W and frequencies above 18 GHz.

What you'll do

- Architect and design high-power SPST, SPDT, and multi-throw GaN RF switches for microwave and millimeter-wave applications targeting >100 W RF power handling and operation above 18 GHz. - Optimize insertion loss, isolation, return loss, power compression, harmonics, linearity, switching speed, bandwidth, and power handling. - Collaborate with device and modeling teams to optimize GaN device structures, balancing Ron, Coff, breakdown voltage, parasitics, device geometry, and die area. - Analyze RF voltage and current stress, device stacking, nonlinear behavior, breakdown margin, thermal performance, mismatch conditions, and RF reliability. - Perform circuit and electromagnetic simulation of MMIC structures, transmission lines, passive structures, interconnects, and package transitions. - Lead designs from architecture through schematic design, layout, tape-out, qualification, on-wafer and packaged RF measurements, and production release.

What you'll need

- Master’s or PhD in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, Applied Physics, or a related field. - 10+ years of RF, microwave, or MMIC semiconductor design experience, with demonstrated RF switch design expertise. - Experience designing RF switches using GaN HEMT, GaAs pHEMT, PIN diode, SOI, or related technologies. - Demonstrated microwave or millimeter-wave design experience, alongside experience with high-power RF circuits, breakdown, thermal performance, and mismatch conditions. - Strong understanding of switch fundamentals including Ron, Coff, breakdown voltage, FET stacking, nonlinear behavior, and insertion loss/isolation tradeoffs. - Experience with MMIC design, physical layout, tape-out, measured-to-simulated performance correlation, and laboratory tools including VNAs, spectrum analyzers, power meters, high-power RF sources, and probe stations. - Proficiency with RF design tools such as Keysight ADS or Cadence AWR, and EM simulation tools such as HFSS, Momentum, or Sonnet.

Nice to have

- Direct experience developing 100 W RF switches and/or switch products above 18 GHz. - Experience with GaN RF switch design and device technology. - Experience with RADAR, EW, SATCOM, phased-array, T/R module, or test-and-measurement applications. - Experience with high-power mismatch testing, RF reliability, qualification, and failure analysis. - Track record of successful RF/MMIC products from concept through production. - Published technical papers and/or issued patents related to RF, microwave, GaN, or semiconductor circuit design.

Skills: RF switch design, GaN HEMT, microwave, millimeter-wave, Keysight ADS