Sr Application Engineer, EDA - Richardson, TX, United States
$100,700 - $131,000 USD yearly
Originally posted 17 September 2026 by the employer.
Support development of GaN and GaAs RF Power Amplifiers and RF Front-End Modules for 5G NR and 6G.
About the role
The focus is on ensuring EDA flows are grounded in real design and correlation challenges for GaN/GaAs technologies.
What you'll do
- Directly support the design of high-efficiency, high-linearity GaN and/or GaAs PAs and RF FEMs for 5G NR/6G.
- Lead or support the integration of PA dies into multi-chip modules (MCM), optimizing methodology and flows for size, cost, and thermal performance.
- Provide day-to-day applications support for PA, RFIC, analog, mixed-signal, and digital design teams using industry-standard EDA tools.
- Develop, qualify, and deploy RF/PA design flows spanning circuit-level simulation (ADS) and 3D electromagnetic simulation (HFSS).
- Evaluate, benchmark, and deploy new EDA capabilities for custom RF/analog design, AMS simulation, and digital verification.
- Build reference design flows, PDK enablement, reusable automation, and documented best practices spanning RF, analog, AMS, and digital methodologies.
What you'll need
- Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering with 5+ years of industry experience in hands-on GaN and/or GaAs RF Power Amplifier design, or an advanced degree with equivalent experience.
- Proven track record designing PAs/FEMs using GaN and/or GaAs (HBT, HEMT, or related) technologies for cellular, 5G NR, 6G, or other high-frequency applications.
- Strong understanding of RF fundamentals, including S-parameters, impedance matching, stability, and linearity.
- Extensive hands-on experience with ADS, HFSS, and Cadence for RF circuit and EM design.
- Solid background in RF measurement and characterization, with the ability to correlate simulated models to measured silicon performance.
- Demonstrated ability to translate hands-on design experience into scalable methodology, flows, and best practices for a broader design organization.
Nice to have
- Experience defining or deploying enterprise-wide EDA design flows and methodology across multiple design teams.
- Knowledge of EM, package, thermal, and multi-physics simulation for RF front-end modules.
- Direct experience collaborating with EDA vendors on tool qualification and roadmap development.
- Experience carrying a PA or FEM design through the transition to high-volume manufacturing.
- Working knowledge of Synopsys HSPICE/PrimeSim/VCS or Xcelium.
Skills: GaN/GaAs PAs, RF FEMs, EDA applications support, RF design flows, customer support
This role has been open 5 days — well below the 32-day median for Applications FAE roles.
Applications FAE · RF Frontend
|
Open roles in category
73
|
Median days open
32 d
|
Median salary
$144k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | QORVO | All employers we track in this specialty (73 roles · 18 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 17 | 73 |
| Median days open | 22 d | 32 d (−10 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $144k |
Skills observed across this category: GaN/GaAs PAs, RF FEMs, EDA applications support, RF design flows, customer support
Who's hiring in this category
- Keysight Technologies · 20 open roles · median 26 d
- QORVO (this employer) · 17 open roles · median 22 d
- Analog Devices · 9 open roles · median 147 d
- Texas Instruments · 5 open roles · median 42 d
- Silicon Labs · 4 open roles · median 67 d
- GlobalFoundries · 3 open roles · median 74 d
How we counted: 73 open Applications FAE (RF Frontend) roles from 18 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 22 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. Figures refresh nightly.