Design Engineering Manager - LTCC

Mini-Circuits designs, manufactures and distributes integrated circuits, modules, and sub-systems for high-performance radio frequency (RF) and microwave applications.  With design, sales and manufacturing locations in over 30 countries, Mini-Circuits’ products are used in a range of wired and wireless communications applications. Our products are also used in detection, measurement and imaging applications, including military communication, guidance and electronic countermeasure systems, commercial, scientific, military land, sea and aircraft; automotive systems, medical systems, and industrial test equipment.

Mini-Circuits’ sells its products to over 20,000 customers globally through our direct sales force, applications engineering staff, sales representatives, as well as through our extensive website.

Position Summary:

The Principal LTCC Design Engineer is responsible for leading a design team from concept through production in developing RF, Microwave, and Millimeter-Wave LTCC components with emphasis on Filters, Power Splitters, Couplers, and Baluns, in areas of Defense, Telecommunications, Test and Measurement, Commercial & Industrial systems.

Salary Range: $149,000 - $200,000 per year

Job Function:

• Product Definition:
  • Review, determine, and approve the feasibility of production, catalog, and customer special specifications based on either customer, application, market, or Product Line Management (PLM) objectives and requirements.
  • Create a map of competing technologies and elaborate a SWOT analysis of our current LTCC offerings within that context.
  • Assist -the PLM in creating the technical development pipeline and roadmap.
• Product Design and Development:
  • Create and implement an optimum design flow and strategy geared to lower turnaround times, increase component’s performance and rate of 1st spin success while ensuring manufacturability, improving yields, and lowering costs.
  • Responsible for the team’s design approach, topology selection criteria, technological choice, design time budgeting, and overall technical approach to any requirement meeting deadlines and resolving performance issues along the way.
  • Develop novel and accurate multi-physics simulation models, DOEs, and technology characterization efforts to forecast production-level performance.
  • Evaluate components, materials & suppliers.
  • Lead design review meetings.
  • Create and manage a library of FEM and MoM simulation models including connectors, PCBs, LTCCs, Cal Standards, Wire bonds and lumped components, among others.
• Product Characterization, Qualification, and Test Development:
  • Work with characterization and test engineers to define test plans and block diagrams.
  • Work with QA, Reliability, MPE, and Engineering test in developing qualification plans, test strategies, and methodologies conducive to the standardization of component specifications.
• Support:
  • Serve as technical support to the LTCC PLM, fellow Engineers, Production, Marketing, Sales, and Applications departments on new and existing designs.
  • Direct the course of action in troubleshooting for prototyping and production-related failures.
  • Contribute to the creation and presentation of technical content to train less experienced engineers, new team members, applications, sales, and marketing members.
• Intellectual Property Generation:
  • Create a systematic approach for the design team to generate IP and publications in the form of patents, white papers, technical seminars, webinars, workshops, application notes, technical articles, etc.
  • Ensure MCL maintains its technical lead and relevance in LTCC components by leading R&D activities, surveying competitor’s offerings, as well as advances in LTCC materials and processes, novel circuital topologies, design methodologies/techniques, simulation software and modeling techniques, device characterization techniques, and novel production testing strategies.
• Management:
  • Manage a team of design engineers
  • Create and manage a technical training program for the design team aimed at the individual’s professional growth.
  • Propose figures of merit and KPIs intended to capture the design team’s performance.
  • Hands-on technical management of design projects from concept through production launch including defining project milestones and responsibilities as well as managing other members to meet the project objectives.
  • Monitor and manage the use of specialized simulation and CAD software as well as the employment of the hardware running it.
  • Report to the PLM on the team’s use of the available software and hardware tools and suggest changes, acquisitions, tradeoffs, etc., for the same.

The duties, responsibilities and expectations described above are not a comprehensive list and additional tasks may be assigned to the member, within the scope of the position.

Qualifications:

• BSEE with 13+ years OR;
• MSEE with 10+ years OR;
• Ph.D. with 8+ years relevant experience in passive components developments.
• Principal Design Engineer level competency
• Demonstrated ability to lead and work collaboratively with a team of engineers to create & support the activities during the life cycle of products, from conception through production within stated time frames. 
• 3+ years of personnel supervisory experience
• Strong background in the design of passive components like Filters, Power Splitters, Couplers, and Transformers in multi-layer technologies operating to the mmWave range
• Proven prior experience in managing a design team
• Proven experience in developing products under a Phase Gated Process (PGP)
• Familiarity with both thick-film and thin-film processes
• Real-world strong lab analysis and debug experience required to verify simulated performance
• Well-developed analytical and problem-solving skills
• Familiarity with system-level design practices, requirements, and budgeting.
• Knowledge of common architectures (block diagrams) employed in A&D, Telecommunications, T&M, Ind, and BOC applications is a plus.
• Strong background in EM Simulation and modeling employing MoM and FEM engines.
• Prior experience with Ansys HFSS and Keysight’s PathWave is preferred
• Prior experience in conducting multi-physics simulations (thermal and mechanical) is preferred
• Good familiarity with statistical analysis techniques is preferred
• Familiarity with Artificial Intelligence methods is a plus
• Knowledge of Matlab and Python is a plus
• Familiarity with CAD software such as SolidWorks, DraftSight is a plus
• Experience in designing passive MMIC components for mmWave applications is plus
• Strong communication and presentation skills

Physical Demands:  

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk and hear. The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, sit and use hands to operate a computer keyboard. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, and ability to adjust focus. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Additional Requirements/Skills:  

• Comply, understand, and support corporate safety initiatives to ensure a safe work environment
• Ability and willingness to abide by Company’s Code of Conduct
• US Citizen or US Permanent Resident (Green Card Holder)

Disclaimer: The listed qualifications and requirements for each position are intended as guidelines.  Mini-Circuits reserves the right to hire outside of these guidelines at Management’s discretion.

Mini-Circuits is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of actual or perceived age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status, familial status, gender identity, gender dysphoria, pregnancy-related condition, and domestic violence victim status or protected class characteristic, or any other protected characteristic as established by federal or state law.