Hardware Engineer

PamirAI is a U.S.-based hardware startup building the Agent Computer — hardware that turns segmented time in your life into productivity. We're backed by top-tier U.S. VCs, with a founding team out of Microsoft and Qualcomm, shipping real products from 0→1 into production.This is a 3-month contract role based on-site in Redwood City, CA, with the option to convert to full-time based on performance. Full-time salary ranges from $150K to $200K depending on experience.During the contract, you'll focus primarily on design verification of our current platforms, plus small PCB prototype design as needed. After conversion to full-time, the role shifts toward PCB design ownership — schematics, layout, and bring-up on new boards and revisions.We're currently bringing up our device through EV2 → DVT → NPI. We have a comprehensive CTQ test plan spanning PMIC sequencing, power rails, USB-PD, wireless, audio, sensors, security, and reliability. Success in this role means executing these tests end-to-end, documenting cleanly, and closing out findings with the design team — then graduating into a core PCB design seat on future products.ResponsibilitiesContract phase — Design Verification:Execute CTQ tests against EV2/DVT hardware: power sequencing, USB-PD negotiation, I2C/SPI bus integrity, PCIe/eMMC/SD storage, Wi-Fi/BT/LTE RF, audio path, IMU, security elements, biometrics, RTC, thermals, and reliability soaksSet up and run benches with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power profilers, audio analyzers, thermal chambers, PD analyzers, and NFC fixturesCapture waveforms, log data, and file issues with proper root-cause analysis — not just pass/failSupport small PCB prototype spins as needed during the contractCollaborate with the mechanical and firmware team in ShenzhenAfter conversion to full-time — PCB Design:Own schematic capture and PCB layout for new boards and revisions (4–10+ layers)Drive DFM/DFT reviews, BOM, assembly drawings, and manufacturing documentationLead board bring-up: power-tree validation, clocking/reset, pin-mux, high-speed interface debugWork with firmware, industrial design, and supply chain through prototype → small batch → mass productionQualificationsMust-have (for the contract):3+ years hands-on hardware validation on embedded SoC platforms (If you think are a cracked engineer you can ignore this)Fluent with oscilloscopes ≥1 GHz bandwidth, logic analyzers, USB/PD analyzers, and spectrum analyzersReads schematics at the discrete level — PMIC datasheets, load switches, level shiftersAuthorized to work in the U.S. and able to work on-site in Redwood City, CANice-to-have:USB-C PD3.1, DisplayPort Alt Mode, and MIPI CSI debuggingWireless compliance (FCC / CE / SRRC) pre-scan familiarityPython / Bash for test automationPrior EV → DVT → PVT cycle experience on a consumer deviceSpoken Mandarin for collaboration with our Shenzhen teamFor full-time conversion:Proven end-to-end PCB design experience, from schematic to layout to bring-up, on 4–10+ layer boardsProficiency with Cadence Allegro (this is our design environment)High-speed design experience with DDR/eMMC, USB 2/3, MIPI CSI/DSI, and PCIe constraint-driven routingExposure to SI/PI analysis, EMI/EMC pre-scan and rework, and NPI / mass production introductionPassionate about consumer electronicsIs This You?We're 10 people and growing. If you want to actually own something, ship it, and see your name on the board that ends up in a customer's hands — this is that role. If you're tired of being one more cog in a big-tech machine, pushing tickets through a process nobody remembers designing, come build with us.We also have a strong belief: a great EE isn't just someone who can draw a schematic. A great EE knows how to prove a design works — on the bench, under load, at the edge cases. Test discipline is design discipline. That's why this role starts in verification and grows into design ownership — because we think that's the right order to build an engineer who can ship real hardware.What you get here:Direct impact on 0→1 hardware shaping how humans and AI work togetherA seat at the table, not a seat in a row — your designs, your calls, your name on themSmall team, fast iteration, competitive comp + equity on conversionWork alongside senior engineers from Microsoft, Qualcomm, and top U.S. VC-backed startupsReal products on real production lines — not demos, not decks