Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Designer

Job Description

Job Title: Senior Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Designer. Location: Redmond, Washington, United States

Responsibilities:

• Lead complex PCB layout projects from engineering requirements through design release, including component placement, signal routing, power distribution, layer stack-up, controlled impedance, and high-density interconnect design.
• Collaborate with electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, and other engineering teams to translate schematics and system requirements into robust, manufacturable PCB designs.
• Develop and maintain PCB layouts using Electronic Computer-Aided Design (ECAD) tools such as Cadence Allegro.
• Apply appropriate design constraints, routing practices, and component library content throughout the design process;
• Conduct and support PCB design reviews, including Design Rule Check (DRC) closure, stack-up and material reviews, mechanical clearance verification, and controlled-impedance requirements.
• Document design-specific requirements and ensure design quality before release.
• Work with PCB fabrication and assembly suppliers to address Design for Manufacturability (DFM) requirements, incorporate fabrication feedback, and prepare complete manufacturing release packages;
• Improve PCB design methodologies, component libraries, workflows, and automation to increase quality, consistency, reuse, efficiency, and scalability across hardware development programs.
• Apply Microsoft's culture and values in daily work.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field, with at least 5 years of technical engineering experience; or
• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field, with at least 3 years of technical engineering experience; or equivalent experience.
• Ability to meet Microsoft, customer, and/or government security screening requirements.
• Ability to use AI tools to improve engineering research, design analysis, documentation, workflow optimization, and task automation.
• Ability to work in an AI-first environment, using modern AI tools to accelerate discovery and hardware development while applying appropriate human oversight and Microsoft's Responsible AI requirements.

Preferred:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field, with at least 8 years of technical engineering experience; or
• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field, with at least 6 years of technical engineering experience; or equivalent experience.
• Experience using schematic and board layout tools to deliver complex, multilayer PCB designs through fabrication and assembly release.
• Experience applying controlled-impedance, differential-pair, mixed-signal, grounding, and return-path constraints in PCB layouts.
• Knowledge of PCB stack-ups, materials, via structures, component placement, mechanical constraints, and design for manufacturability.
• Experience collaborating across electrical, mechanical, systems, verification, and manufacturing disciplines throughout the hardware development lifecycle.
• Experience using Cadence ECAD tools, such as Allegro PCB Designer;
• Experience designing electronics for cryogenic, low-noise, radio-frequency, precision-measurement, or other demanding operating environments.
• Familiarity with quantum hardware, control or readout electronics, cryogenic electronics, or advanced instrumentation systems.
• Experience with signal-integrity or power-integrity analysis and incorporating simulation results into board revisions;
• Experience with design for manufacturing and design for test, rigid-flex construction, advanced laminates, microvias, or high-density interconnect technologies.
• Experience preparing fabrication and assembly documentation and working with PCB fabrication and assembly suppliers.
• Experience maintaining shared ECAD component libraries and validating schematic symbols and PCB footprints for reuse.
• Experience supporting board bring-up, verification, failure analysis, and corrective design changes.

Benefits and Compensation:

Annual base salary:

• General U.S. locations: $119,800 to $234,700.
• San Francisco Bay Area and New York City metropolitan area: $160,200 to $261,000.

Compensation depends on the position's work location and other applicable factors.

Certain roles may be eligible for additional benefits and compensation. Details are available at the Microsoft Careers compensation and benefits page.

Other Information:

• Job number: 200060147
• Date posted: October 10, 2026
• Profession: Hardware Engineering
• Discipline: Hardware Engineering
• Role type: Individual Contributor
• Career level: IC4
• Travel: Less than 25%.
• Security screening: The role requires a Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire or transfer and every two years thereafter.
• Export control: The position may involve access to export-controlled information. Candidates must provide acceptable documentation to verify citizenship, permanent residency, or another qualifying protected status, as applicable under relevant regulations.
• Application deadline: The position will remain open for at least 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the role is filled.
• Equal opportunity: Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants without discrimination based on legally protected characteristics.