Server platform design architect
THE ROLE
Function: Principal Member of Technical Staff | Discipline: High Speed Board Design & Server Platform Architecture | Level: Principal / Staff (Senior Individual Contributor) | Location: Bangalore, India | Department: Server Platform Design / System Hardware Engineering
We are looking for an exceptionally skilled and experienced Principal Member of Technical Staff to join our Server platform Hardware Engineering team, specializing in High Speed Board Design. This is a senior individual contributor role that combines deep technical expertise with leadership responsibility across complex, multi-generational hardware programs.
The ideal candidate is a seasoned hardware engineer who thrives at the intersection of signal integrity, power integrity, and system-level design — someone who can independently drive technically complex designs from concept to production while also guiding and mentoring the engineers around them.
This role operates at the forefront of hardware innovation, working on high-performance computing platforms, data center solutions, or next-generation semiconductor evaluation and validation systems. The engineer in this role will be expected to define technical direction, establish design methodology, and be the go-to authority for high speed board design challenges across the organization.
THE PERSON
The ideal candidate brings a rare combination of deep hardware expertise and collaborative leadership. They are recognised as the go-to authority in platform design — someone who can resolve complex problems that others cannot, while remaining humble enough to mentor and grow the engineers around them.
They demonstrate full ownership — from concept to production — and approach ambiguous, multi-disciplinary problems with a systematic mindset. They communicate complex technical concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences, and represent the team with confidence in cross-functional and vendor discussions.
Above all, they have an innovation mindset — constantly looking for better ways to design, review, and validate hardware — and they actively invest in the growth of the engineers around them. They are collaborative across disciplines (SI, firmware, mechanical, test, silicon) and comfortable navigating shifting priorities and new technology domains.
What success looks like: In the first 6 months: Deep understanding of team programs, tools, and design standards; actively contributing to design reviews and board bring-up; identified at least one methodology improvement opportunity. Within the first year: Owning one or more high-speed board designs from specification through layout sign-off; recognised as a trusted technical resource; contributed to or defined updated design standards. Over time: Defining the technical direction for platform architecture within the organisation; producing benchmark designs for quality and reliability; developing the next generation of hardware design engineers on the team.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Technical Design & Execution
- Lead the end-to-end design of high-speed, high-complexity PCBs including schematic capture, component selection, layout guidance, and design verification
- Design and review high-speed interfaces including PCIe Gen 4/5/6, DDR4/5/LPDDR5, USB 3.x, MIPI, SERDES-based interfaces, Ethernet (1G/10G/25G/100G), and other emerging standards
- Develop and own design specifications, interface requirement documents, and schematics for complex multi-layer boards (20+ layers)
- Define and enforce PCB stack-up, impedance control, and routing rules for high-speed signal integrity compliance
- Drive board bring-up, debug, and validation activities — capable of independently diagnosing and resolving complex hardware issues
- Perform or guide pre-layout and post-layout signal integrity (SI) and power integrity (PI) simulations using industry-standard tools
- Work closely with PCB layout engineers to ensure design intent is correctly implemented, performing detailed layout reviews and providing clear, specific guidance
- Architecture & Innovation
- Participate in early-stage architecture definition and feasibility assessment for new platform programs
- Evaluate new silicon devices, connectors, memory technologies, and interface standards and assess applicability to upcoming designs
- Define reference design guidelines and best practices for high speed board design within the team
- Identify and propose design improvements that reduce cost, improve reliability, extend product life, or enhance testability
- Stay current with industry trends, emerging standards, and evolving EDA tool capabilities
- Technical Leadership & Mentorship
- Serve as the technical authority and subject matter expert (SME) for high speed board design within the team
- Provide technical guidance, design reviews, and mentorship to junior and mid-level hardware engineers
- Lead design reviews — both internal and cross-functional — ensuring design quality, manufacturability, and compliance with system requirements
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams including signal integrity engineers, firmware engineers, mechanical designers, and test engineers
- Represent the hardware design team in technical discussions with silicon vendors, EDA tool vendors, PCB fabricators, and assembly partners
- Process & Quality
- Define and maintain design standards, checklists, and review processes for high speed board design
- Champion design for manufacturability (DFM), design for testability (DFT), and design for reliability (DFR) practices
- Drive continuous improvement in design methodology, tool flows, and review processes
- Support sustaining engineering activities including ECO management, alternate component qualification, and product improvements
PREFERRED EXPERIENCE
- REQUIRED TECHNICAL SKILLS
- Deep expertise in high-speed interface design: PCIe (Gen 4/5 minimum), DDR4/DDR5, USB 3.x, SERDES-based interfaces
- Strong hands-on experience with signal integrity analysis — pre/post layout simulation, eye diagram analysis, impedance modeling, crosstalk analysis
- Strong hands-on experience with power integrity analysis — PDN design, decoupling strategy, VRM placement, DC/AC analysis
- Proficiency in schematic capture tools — Cadence Allegro/OrCAD, Mentor PADS, or equivalent industry tools
- Practical experience guiding PCB layout engineers — routing rules, layer stack-up, via structures, differential pair routing, length matching, and return path management
- Experience with board bring-up and hardware debug — oscilloscope, logic analyzer, VNA, TDR, BERT, and protocol analyzers
- Familiarity with EMI/EMC design practices and compliance requirements (FCC, CE, etc.)
- Understanding of thermal design considerations for high-power components
- Knowledge of manufacturing processes — DFM, IPC standards, Gerber review, assembly and test
- PREFERRED / BONUS SKILLS
- Experience with FPGA-based boards (Xilinx/AMD or Intel FPGA integration)
- Exposure to high-speed optical or SerDes interfaces at 112G or beyond
- Experience with OCP/DC-SCM, OpenBMC, IPMI, or data center platform standards
- Familiarity with RTL or firmware development for hardware validation or embedded systems
- Experience with mechanical design tools (ECAD-MCAD co-design)
- Exposure to AI/ML-based EDA tools or automation of design review and verification processes
- Experience in JTAG infrastructure design and boundary scan methodology
- EXPERIENCE
- 15+ years of hands-on experience in PCB hardware design, with a strong focus on high-speed digital systems
- Demonstrated experience designing complex, multi-layer PCBs (16+ layers) for high-performance computing, server, networking, or semiconductor test and evaluation platforms
- Proven track record of successfully delivering hardware designs from concept through mass production or customer deployment
ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS
- Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a closely related field (preferred)
- Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or related discipline (preferred / desired)
LOCATION
- Bangalore, India
- Department: Server Platform Design / System Hardware Engineering
#LI-SK3
