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Principal Electrical Engineer, Instrument Development

Microsoft · Redmond

About this role

Lead instrument development from concept through prototype and deployment, including requirements, architecture, schematic/layout oversight, bring-up, calibration, and characterization. Architect and design precision, low-noise, and mixed-signal electronics for measurement and control, including signal integrity, grounding/shielding, and power integrity in demanding lab/cryo-adjacent environments. Define timing/clocking and synchronization approaches across instruments and subsystems; own key electrical interfaces between instruments, cryo hardware, and control/readout stacks

Drive robust validation of instruments (test plans, automated measurements, calibration workflows, and acceptance criteria), and use data to improve performance, reliability, and manufacturability. Collaborate with cross-functional teams including quantum research, architecture, experimentalists, cryogenics, firmware/software, and test engineering to translate system needs into measurable electrical specifications and instrument roadmaps. Define and maintain shared reference and validation platforms (bench/rack/PCB/interconnect) used to de-risk new designs, enable rapid bring-up, and provide repeatable regression coverage for critical slices of the stack

Lead vendor engagement and manage build/buy decisions for instrument and validation hardware (e.g., chassis/backplanes, connectors/cabling, clocks, power modules, test fixtures), including qualification plans and acceptance criteria. Doctorate in Electrical Engineering or related field AND 3+ years experience in industry or in a research and development environment Ability to leverage AI tools to drive innovation and efficiency (e.g., performance modeling and analysis, research gathering, day to day task automation). Ability to work in an “AI-first” environment using modern AI tools to accelerate discovery through hardware development

Demonstrated technical leadership in architecting and delivering complex electrical instruments or measureme

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