Senior Hardware Design Engineer

At Penguin Solutions (Nasdaq: PENG) - The AI Factory Platform Company - we're building a team of innovators who thrive on collaboration, creativity, and the opportunity to help shape the future of AI. As part of the AI technology revolution, our teams design, build, deploy, and manage AI factories for enterprises, sovereign AI initiatives, and neocloud providers worldwide.

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, Penguin Solutions operates globally through a network of R&D, manufacturing, and sales locations. For nearly three decades, we have operated at the intersection of memory and AI/HPC infrastructure. That engineering expertise positions us to power the next generation of AI workloads, from training to inference and agentic AI at scale.

Penguin Solutions brings together differentiated infrastructure software, advanced memory, compute systems, end-to-end services, and industry-leading partner solutions in a full-stack AI factory platform designed to help customers deploy and scale AI workloads with speed and precision.

At Penguin Solutions, we value ideas over hierarchy and believe in servant leadership, where leaders enable teams to do their best work. We empower employees to take ownership, drive innovation, and grow through challenging work, continuous learning, and exposure to advanced AI tools and technologies. With flexibility where it matters and a strong focus on outcomes, Penguin Solutions is a place to do your best work, grow your career, and make a meaningful impact.

Job Overview

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Senior Hardware Design Engineer to join our engineering team. The ideal candidate will be responsible for the design, development, bring-up, validation, and debug of advanced hardware platforms incorporating high-speed interfaces, memory subsystems, embedded controllers, and power architectures.

This position requires strong hands-on experience in high-speed digital hardware design, PCB development, signal integrity considerations, and system-level debugging. The candidate will work closely with cross-functional teams throughout the product development lifecycle, from architecture and schematic capture through prototype bring-up and production release.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop complex hardware systems involving high-speed digital interfaces, memory subsystems, and embedded processors.
• Create architecture specifications, schematics, BOMs, and design documentation.
• Develop hardware solutions using SoCs, FPGAs, microcontrollers, and embedded system components.
• Design and validate DDR memory interfaces and non-volatile memory subsystems.
• Perform schematic review, design verification, and hardware debugging.
• Collaborate with PCB layout engineers to ensure signal integrity, power integrity, impedance control, and manufacturability requirements are met.
• Conduct board bring-up, debugging, and validation activities on prototype hardware.
• Perform electrical characterization using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and other laboratory instruments.
• Analyze and resolve hardware issues throughout development and qualification phases.
• Work closely with firmware, software, mechanical, manufacturing, and test engineering teams to ensure successful product delivery.
• Support product sustaining activities and root-cause investigations when necessary.

Qualifications

• Bachelors or Masters degree in Electrical Engineering (EE), Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), or a related field.

• 5 to 8 years of professional experience in hardware design and development of high-speed electronic products.

• Strong understanding of DDR3, DDR4, and DDR5 DRAM architectures and interfaces.

• Experience with NAND Flash and NOR Flash memory technologies.

• Solid knowledge of high-speed communication interfaces, including:

• PCI Express (PCIe)

• Gigabit Ethernet and higher-speed Ethernet technologies

• Other industry-standard serial interfaces

• Good understanding of system management interfaces, including:

• SMBus / I²C

• I3C

• PMBus

• Experience with SoC-based and embedded system designs.

• Knowledge of DC-DC power converter design and power distribution architectures.

• Familiarity with PCB design and layout processes, including:

• High-speed signal routing

• Differential pair routing

• Impedance control

• Signal integrity and power integrity considerations

• Experience using PCB schematic and layout tools such as Cadence Allegro, OrCAD, or equivalent.

• Strong hands-on experience with laboratory equipment, including:

• High-bandwidth oscilloscopes for signal integrity measurements

• Oscilloscopes and power analyzers for power rail characterization

• Logic analyzers and protocol analyzers

• Demonstrated ability to perform hardware prototype bring-up, debugging, and validation.

• Excellent analytical and troubleshooting skills.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, cross-functional engineering environment.

• Must be able to work onsite in the office

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Compute Express Link (CXL) products and technologies.
• Experience designing enterprise server hardware platforms.
• Experience with optical networking, optical modules, or fiber-optic communication products.
• Knowledge of signal integrity and power integrity simulation tools.
• Experience with design for manufacturability (DFM), design for testability (DFT), and production support activities.

Location

Newark, CA

Travel

Occasionally

Compensation & Benefits

The base pay range that the Company reasonably expects to pay for this position in California is $125,000 - $150,000; the pay ultimately offered may vary based on business considerations, including job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and education. The position is bonus-eligible, and there are medical, dental, and vision benefits available. There is a 401k saving plan and other benefits, such as Paid Time Off, Life Insurance, and an Employee Assistance Plan.

Inclusion & Belonging Statement

We are committed to creating an inclusive environment that embraces differences and fosters belonging for all.

Equal Opportunity Statement

We are an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly committed to all policies which will afford equal opportunity employment to all qualified persons without regard to age, national origin, race, ethnicity, creed, gender, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.