Principal Electrical Design Engineer

Forming Our Future together

FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ: FORM), is a leading provider of essential test and measurement technologies along the full semiconductor product life cycle — from characterization, modeling, reliability, and design de-bug, to qualification and production test. Semiconductor companies rely upon FormFactor’s products and services to accelerate profitability by optimizing device performance and advancing yield knowledge. The company serves customers through its network of facilities in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Rooted in our core values — Focus on the Customer, Ownership & Accountability, Respectfully & Effectively Communicate, and Motivate & Develop People — we foster an environment where diverse perspectives are not only welcomed but celebrated. Everyone can make an impact here. Whether it's improving products, supporting customers, or positively influencing peers and the community, the contributions of our people matter.

Shift:

The regular hours for this position are day shift.

Job Description:

The Principal Electrical Design Engineer develops production-ready electrical designs for advanced wafer probe card solutions, translating complex customer test requirements into accurate, manufacturable designs. This role applies strong electrical engineering knowledge, product expertise, and established design methodologies to independently manage design projects from requirements review through production release.

The engineer serves as a key technical contributor, working directly with customers, vendors, and cross-functional teams to evaluate requirements, resolve design challenges, and deliver high-quality solutions. This position also contributes to the continuous improvement of design tools and processes and provides technical guidance, training, and mentorship to developing engineers and designers.

Key Responsibilities:

Electrical Design & Development

• Develop production-ready probe card electrical designs that meet customer requirements, internal design standards, performance requirements, and manufacturing capabilities.
• Interpret complex product specifications and apply electrical circuit fundamentals, design rules, manufacturing requirements, and established engineering processes to develop effective design solutions.
• Use proprietary and commercially available design tools to translate customer technical requirements into accurate, high-quality electrical designs.
• Create, analyze, and validate logical designs and netlists for production probe card applications.
• Perform probe card design entry using customer technical specifications provided through schematics, spreadsheets, and other approved technical formats.
• Apply knowledge of impedance control, power distribution networks (PDN), signal integrity, digital and analog circuits, and physical routing considerations to support design performance.
• Review designs for technical accuracy, manufacturability, and compliance with applicable design requirements prior to release.

Technical Analysis & Customer Solutions

• Translate customer requirements into clear electrical and logical design requirements for internal and external physical designers supporting space transformers and PCBs.
• Evaluate technical requirements and recommend design approaches that balance electrical performance, manufacturability, schedule, and customer needs.
• Interface directly with customers and vendors to understand technical requirements, resolve design questions, and provide timely engineering analysis and recommendations.
• Provide technical input and feedback to Sales and Design teams during customer evaluations, feasibility assessments, and design execution.
• Troubleshoot moderately complex electrical design issues and develop practical solutions using engineering analysis, data, and established design practices.

Project & Design Execution

• Independently coordinate assigned design projects from initial requirements review through production release.
• Establish and manage project scope, design schedules, milestones, deliverables, and quality requirements.
• Manage multiple concurrent design projects while balancing customer priorities, technical complexity, and business requirements.
• Monitor design progress, identify potential technical or schedule risks, and coordinate with appropriate stakeholders to resolve issues.
• Ensure assigned designs are completed accurately and in accordance with established project, quality, and production requirements.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Sales, Marketing, PCB Design, Substrate Design, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, and other technical teams throughout the design lifecycle.
• Partner with Manufacturing and related engineering teams to ensure designs align with production capabilities and established manufacturing requirements.
• Coordinate with internal and external design resources to communicate technical requirements and resolve design issues.
• Work effectively with geographically dispersed teams to support design execution, customer evaluations, technical knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement.

Design Tools & Continuous Improvement

• Partner with design and automation teams to define, develop, evaluate, and validate improvements to design tools and processes.
• Identify opportunities to improve design quality, efficiency, repeatability, and manufacturability.
• Provide technical feedback on new and existing design tools based on production design experience and user requirements.
• Develop and maintain design documentation, work instructions, technical guidelines, and engineering best practices.
• Support implementation of improved tools, processes, and methodologies within the design organization.

Training & Technical Guidance

• Train and mentor new employees and developing team members on probe card design processes, tools, and engineering practices.
• Develop technical documentation and structured training materials to support employee development and consistent design execution.
• Provide day-to-day technical guidance to designers and engineering partners within areas of demonstrated expertise.
• Share technical knowledge, lessons learned, and design best practices across the organization.

Preferred Qualifications & Experience:

• Strong knowledge of electrical design fundamentals, including impedance control, power distribution networks (PDN), signal integrity, and digital and analog circuit design.
• Solid understanding of physical routing concepts, including differential-pair routing, high-speed design considerations, and related PCB layout practices.
• Demonstrated ability to interpret complex technical requirements and translate them into practical electrical design solutions.
• Experience developing and validating logical designs, netlists, schematics, or related electrical design documentation.
• Knowledge of multilayer PCB and ceramic or organic substrate design and manufacturing processes is preferred.
• Experience with Cadence Allegro, Siemens PADS, AutoCAD, or similar engineering design tools.
• Knowledge of or experience with semiconductor test, wafer probing, semiconductor manufacturing, or related technologies is preferred.
• Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills with a high degree of attention to technical accuracy and quality.
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage multiple technical projects and priorities within established schedules.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex technical information clearly to customers and cross-functional teams.
• Ability to effectively train, mentor, and provide technical guidance to less-experienced team members.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across engineering, manufacturing, commercial, and customer-facing organizations.

Skills:

Electrical Designs, Electrical Engineering, PCB Layout Design, Power Integrity, Problem Solving, Project Management, Signal Integrity, Simulation Modeling, Water Testing

Education & Experience:

Minimum of 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 3 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD without experience; or equivalent work | Required

Pay Range:

$110,700.00 - $145,320.00

Pay Range Explained:

This role in Livermore, California pays between $110,700.00 and $145,320.00 per year, depending on your experience, skills, and background. Pay may vary in other locations. We offer a full benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability coverage, a 401(k) with company match, employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), and paid time off. You’ll also be eligible for quarterly profit-sharing bonuses and flexible spending or savings accounts.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

FormFactor is an equal opportunity employer. FormFactor complies with all national, state, and local laws that seek to promote equal opportunities for any applicant or employee without regard to age, race, color, gender, gender identity/expression, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, disability, marital status, pregnancy or related condition, military service, or any other legally protected characteristics. These protections apply to all aspects of employment, including but not limited to, recruitment, hiring, training, promotions, and compensation.

For roles that are designated as remote-eligible, employees cannot be located in: AL, AK, AR, DE, GA, HI, IL, IA, LA, ME, MD, MS, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, ND, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, WV, WI, WY. This list is continuously evolving and being updated, please check back with us if the state you live in is on the exclusion list. A role is remote-eligible only when it is listed as "Remote" in the job location.