Printed Circuit Board Designer

Role Overview and Responsibilities

PCB Layout Designer

You will work collaboratively with cross-functional engineering teams to ensure layout designs meet both electrical and mechanical constraints and are suitable for harsh environmental conditions found in space missions.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Translate complex schematics into optimized PCB layouts for space-grade hardware, including rigid and rigid-flex boards.
• Collaborate with electrical and mechanical engineers to define layout constraints such as thermal management, shielding, and placement strategy.
• Design multilayer PCBs with an emphasis on signal integrity, power integrity, EMI/EMC compliance, and mechanical reliability.
• Maintain and develop PCB footprints and schematic symbols as per IPC and company standards.
• Generate detailed manufacturing deliverables including Gerber files, assembly drawings, fabrication notes, and BOMs.
• Participate in design reviews and provide inputs based on layout best practices and space qualification needs.
• Support component selection, ensuring compatibility with radiation tolerance, thermal performance, and outgassing limitations.
• Apply relevant space agency standards such as ECSS, MIL-STD, and NASA guidelines in PCB layout and documentation.
• Support hardware qualification activities including test hardware layout and documentation.
• Maintain rigorous configuration management and version control of layout designs and ECAD libraries.

Candidate Requirements

• Diploma or Bachelors in Electronics Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• Minimum of 5 years in PCB layout and design, including at least 2 years in aerospace or space-grade electronics development.
• Proficiency in EDA tools such as Altium Designer, OrCAD, or Mentor Graphics Expedition.
• In-depth knowledge of IPC standards (IPC-2221, IPC-7351, IPC-6012 Class 3/3A) and familiarity with ECSS, MIL-STD, and NASA layout guidelines.
• Expertise in grounding, shielding, and routing techniques to meet high EMI/EMC compliance standards.
• Strong documentation skills and experience using PLM systems or ECAD libraries for design and version control.