Electrical Engineer, Senior - Hardware Systems

About Positron AI

Positron AI specializes in developing custom hardware systems to accelerate AI inference. These inference systems offer significant performance and efficiency gains over traditional GPU-based systems, delivering advantages in both performance per dollar and performance per watt. Positron exists to create the world's best AI inference systems.

Role Overview

As a Senior Electrical Engineer at Positron AI, you will be the primary technical authority representing the company as we engage with third-party board manufacturers and ODMs to fabricate our current and future hardware platforms. You will oversee the hardware lifecycle from schematic capture, design validation, and manufacturing–ensuring that the power, thermal, and signal integrity characteristics of our high-performance AI systems meet the demands of HPC environments. This is a high-impact role requiring deep expertise in high-speed communication design and analysis for our Asimov ASIC and the ability to manage complex technical relationships with external partners.

Key Responsibilities

• Manufacturer Engagement: Act as the primary technical lead and Positron representative for third-party design and build partners during the fabrication of current and future boards.
• Signal Integrity (SI) Analysis: Perform detailed SI design analysis for 112G PAM4 SerDes communication channels for the Asimov ASIC. Experience with channel simulation is a plus. Specify and review results for a design validation test plan; ensuring robust communication across inter-chip fabrics and external interfaces is achieved for a vast array of physical topologies.
• Design Oversight: Lead schematic and layout reviews for high-density PCBs (targeting Megtron7, Tachyon100G or similar materials with high layer counts, sequential lamination, buried vias, etc.), including the evaluation of fly-over cable strategies to minimize routing congestion.
• Power & Thermal Validation: Oversee the design of power delivery subsystems, supporting up to 600W TDP, and thermal management strategies to meet air-cooling requirements and performance targets in high-density data center environments.
• Validation & Compliance: Own board-level test plan creation and lead the validation of PCIe Gen 6 / CXL link training, transceiver tuning (e.g. CTLE parameters), memory training, and PVT margining and testing.
• Project Governance: Manage the hardware risk register, decision logs, and technical escalations with external partners to keep programs on schedule for pilot and manufacturing ramps. Facilitate the transfer of information between internal and external entities, optimizing co-development of package+board for optimal performance.

Required Qualifications

• Experience: BS/MS in Electrical Engineering and 7+ years of experience in high-speed hardware design, signal integrity, power integrity, and board-level system integration.
• High-Speed Design: Proven expertise in SI/PI analysis for ultra-high-speed interfaces (112G SerDes, PCIe Gen 6, and DDR5) and familiarity with advanced PCB materials and/or fine-pitch interposers or package design . Familiarity with tuning transceiver analog FIR, CTLE, & DFE equalization to compensate for channel loss.
• Manufacturing Management: Direct experience managing ODMs or external manufacturing partners through EVT, DVT, and pilot production phases.
• Technical Tools: Proficiency with industry-standard EDA and simulation tools for SI/PI (e.g., Ansys, Cadence, or Siemens) and hardware debug equipment (e.g., oscilloscopes, logic analyzers).
• Collaboration: Strong ability to write clear hardware specifications and communicate trade-offs across ASIC design, firmware, and mechanical/thermal teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• AI/ML Hardware: Background in designing carrier boards or add-in cards for AI/ML accelerators.
• Thermal Simulation: Experience with collaborating on modeling and analysis CFD/thermal instrumentation and correlating simulations to real-world air-cooled or liquid-cooled performance.
• Compliance Knowledge: Experience driving hardware through FCC/EMI/EMC, CE, and RoHS/REACH regulatory approvals.
• Power Electronics: Experience with high-current VRM architectures and transient load-line analysis for large ASICs.

Leveling & Scope

While this role is currently posted at a specific level, we are a growth-oriented organization and are open to hiring at a more senior level for the right candidate. Please note that this job description serves as a focused but generalized overview of the role; specific responsibilities and impact expectations will be tailored to the experience and seniority of the final hire.

Why Join Us?

• Build groundbreaking AI hardware with a small, high-caliber team.
• Own hardware outcomes that directly define the success of the Titan "super-intelligence-in-a-box" platform.
• Competitive compensation (salary + equity) and comprehensive benefits.
• Flexible, supportive environment with room for technical growth and innovation.

Compensation and Benefits

The base salary range for this role is $185,000 – $250,000.

Please note that the figures provided represent the base salary range only and do not include other elements of our total compensation package, equity, or comprehensive benefits.

At Positron AI, we value the unique expertise each candidate brings. While the range above reflects our typical expectation for the position, we reserve the flexibility to exceed this range for candidates whose specialized skills, significant experience, or unique qualifications fall outside the standard scope of the role. Final offers are determined based on a variety of factors, including internal equity, and individual impact.

Equal Opportunity Employer. If you’re excited about the role but don’t meet every bullet, we’d still love to hear from you.