AI use among electrical and electronics drafters is little observed so far. Measured exposure for electrical and electronics drafters: 9% (little observed).

Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.

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About the job

About us

At Viasat, the work you do helps people stay connected in ways that matter, from everyday moments to critical missions across air, land, sea, and space.

We’re a place for people who are curious, bold, and motivated by meaningful work. Here, you'll have the opportunity to make an impact, explore new possibilities, and grow your career in ways that align with your interests and goals. When you're ready to take on something new, you'll find leaders who support your development and help you turn your ambition into action.

What you'll do

We are seeking an experienced Principal PCB Designer to provide senior level technical leadership and execution for complex printed circuit board designs across the Space Infrastructure organization. This role serves as a technical authority for PCB layout, design quality, and execution strategy, while also acting as a team lead to improve consistency, speed, and overall design excellence.

The Principal PCB Designer also supports critical development efforts including flight hardware, ground systems, and test equipment boards. This role provides supplemental layout capacity on high risk or resource constrained programs. Daily tasks will involve utilizing Mentor Graphics Xpedition layout tools, including CES, to complete your designs. Your design work will follow IPC standards, as well as company and contract manufacturer DFx guidelines.

This is a site‑based role, employees work 3+ days (60%+) per week from a Viasat office or work location within a standard five‑day workweek.

The day-to-day

Provide senior level PCB design leadership across multiple programs and product lines

Scheduling and prioritizing work for direct reports and making task assignments

Produce PCB layouts utilizing Mentor Graphics Xpedition.

Lead PCB layout for the most complex and critical designs, including multilayer, high speed, mixed signal, RF, and power dense boards

Define component placement strategies, routing architecture, constraint sets, and layer stackups with minimal direction

Own PCB layout execution from early architectural trade studies through fabrication and assembly release

Provide expert input on signal integrity, power integrity, EMI and EMC risk mitigation, and layout tradeoffs

Serve as the technical escalation point for complex layout challenges, design issues, yield concerns, and corrective actions

Lead and participate in schematic, placement, routing, and release design reviews across programs

Define, maintain, and improve PCB design standards, constraints, and workflows

Improve design quality, consistency, and execution speed across the PCB team

Provide architecture level feedback to electrical, RF, mechanical, manufacturing, thermal, and test engineers

Work directly with fabrication and assembly partners to address advanced technology, manufacturability, and yield

Mentor junior and senior PCB designers through hands on guidance, reviews, and technical coaching

Support prototype build, debug, and iteration efforts in collaboration with hardware and test teams

Drive low-cost approaches and practices in PCB design

What you'll need

Associate Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering Technology electrical engineering or equivalent professional experience

10 or more years of professional PCB layout experience with ownership of highly complex designs

Expert understanding of signal integrity, power integrity, EMI and EMC, high speed digital, RF, and power electronics layout

5+ years of direct experience using Mentor Xpedition and CES.

Management experience leading a technical team.

Schematic capture experience.

Demonstrated experience leading technical reviews and influencing cross functional engineering teams

Strong experience producing and reviewing complete fabrication and assembly release packages

Ability to operate independently as a technical authority and define solutions to complex problems

Strong written and verbal communication skills

Demonstrated examples of reducing cost, complexity, or improving manufacturability of PCBs.

US Citizenship required

Ability to travel up to 10%

What will help you on the job

Experience serving as the most senior PCB technical resource on a team or program

Background in space, aerospace, defense, automotive, or other high reliability hardware environments

Bachelor’s degree in any engineering discipline.

Familiarity with constraint driven design, automation, scripting, or CAD tool customization

Demonstrated ability to raise design quality, execution efficiency, and organizational best practices

Multi-layer Flex and Rigid-flex circuits.

Complex Multi-layer PWB utilizing high-speed materials, featuring microstrip, strip line, and differential routing, controlled impedance, mix of low-noise RF/analog circuitry.

Digital designs with various pin counts and fine-pitch BGAs, RF transmission lines, matched lengths, and delay control lengths.

Experience with JTAG, RGMI, DSP, DDR, LVDS, SERDES, and Ethernet design.

RF layout development with partitioning of circuits utilizing shields, specific mounting, and grounding requirements. All design criteria defined by engineering specifications.

Knowledgeable with hierarchical schematics and layout reuse schemes is a plus.

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Salary range

$135,000.00 - $213,500.00 / annually. For specific work locations within San Jose, the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, the base pay range for this role is $168,000.00- $252,000.00/ annually

At Viasat, we consider many factors when it comes to compensation, including the scope of the position as well as your background and experience. Base pay may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Additional cash or stock incentives may be provided as part of the compensation package, in addition to a range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position offered. Learn more about Viasat’s comprehensive benefit offerings that are focused on your holistic health and wellness at https://careers.viasat.com/benefits. EEO Statement

Viasat is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, seeking to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, genetics, age, or veteran status or any other applicable legally protected status or characteristic. If you would like to request an accommodation on the basis of disability for completing this on-line application, please click here .