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Power Amplifier Design Engineer Jobs in California

Etched

Power Optimization Engineer

Cupertino, CA · On-site

$2.0K/mo

Work closely with Architects, Performance Engineers, Software Engineers, ASIC Design Engineers, and Physical Design teams to implement design for optimal power using advanced power management ...

Etched

Power Optimization Engineer

Cupertino, CA · On-site

$2.0K/mo

Work closely with Architects, Performance Engineers, Software Engineers, ASIC Design Engineers, and Physical Design teams to implement design for optimal power using advanced power management ...

Etched

Power Optimization Engineer

Cupertino, CA · On-site

$2.0K/mo

Work closely with Architects, Performance Engineers, Software Engineers, ASIC Design Engineers, and Physical Design teams to implement design for optimal power using advanced power management ...

Mini-Circuits

Principal Design Engineer

Carlsbad, CA · On-site

$199 - $215/hr

Position Summary The Principal Design Engineer - MMIC is responsible for developing new MMIC ... Knowledge of power amplifier design techniques; 10+ years in GaAs and/or GaN; experience with other ...

Mini-Circuits

Principal Design Engineer

Carlsbad, CA · On-site

$199K - $215K/yr

The Principal Design Engineer - MMIC is responsible for developing new MMIC products as defined by ... Knowledge of power amplifier design techniques. 10 years' + experience in designing power ...

Mini-Circuits

Principal Design Engineer

Carlsbad, CA · On-site

$199K - $215K/yr

The Principal Design Engineer - MMIC is responsible for developing new MMIC products as defined by ... Knowledge of power amplifier design techniques. 10 years' + experience in designing power ...

Elve Inc

RF Design Engineer

Davis, CA · On-site

We are looking for RF design engineers to play key roles in bringing our technology to market. If ... and power in the mm-wave RF amplifier market. We ask "dumb" questions all the time because we ...

Elve Inc

RF Design Engineer

Davis, CA

We are looking for RF design engineers to play key roles in bringing our technology to market. If ... and power in the mm-wave RF amplifier market. We ask "dumb" questions all the time because we ...

Elve Inc

RF Design Engineer

Davis, CA · On-site

We are looking for RF design engineers to play key roles in bringing our technology to market. If ... and power in the mm-wave RF amplifier market. We ask "dumb" questions all the time because we ...

Qorvo, Inc.

Sr Analog Design Engineer

Newbury Park, CA

$100K - $131K/yr

This engineer will lead the design and development of circuit card assemblies (CCAs) for solid ... Design and integrate circuits including RF amplifier bias and control circuits, GaN power amplifier ...

Qorvo, Inc.

Staff Design Engineer

San Jose, CA · On-site

$144K - $187K/yr

As a Staff Power Amplifier (PA) Design Engineer, you will be involved in the design and development of high-efficiency and high-linearity Cellular Power Amplifiers (PAs) and RF Front-End Modules ...

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Showing results 21-40

All JobsPower Amplifier Design Engineer JobsPower Amplifier Design Engineer Jobs in California

Power Amplifier Design Engineer information

See California salary details

$52

$71

$92

How much do power amplifier design engineer jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 7, 2026, the average hourly pay for power amplifier design engineer in California is $71.65, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $66.44 and $73.56 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is the difference between Power Amplifier Design Engineer vs RF Engineer?

AspectPower Amplifier Design EngineerRF Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engineering, specialized in RF or analog circuit designBachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engineering, with focus on RF systems or communications
Work EnvironmentDesign labs, R&D departments, manufacturing facilitiesDesign labs, field testing sites, communication system environments
Industry UsageConsumer electronics, telecommunications, aerospace, defenseWireless communications, satellite, radar, mobile networks

While both roles involve RF and analog circuit knowledge, Power Amplifier Design Engineers focus specifically on designing high-power amplification components, whereas RF Engineers work on broader RF system design, integration, and testing. The roles often overlap but differ in scope and specialization.

What does a power amplifier design engineer do?

A Power Amplifier Design Engineer is responsible for designing, developing, and testing power amplifiers used in various electronic devices, such as wireless communication systems and audio equipment. They work with circuit design, simulation, prototyping, and performance analysis to ensure the amplifier meets required specifications for efficiency, linearity, and output power. These engineers often collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate amplifiers into larger systems and troubleshoot any issues that arise during development or production.

What are some common challenges power amplifier design engineers face when optimizing designs for efficiency and linearity?

Power Amplifier Design Engineers often encounter the challenge of balancing efficiency with linearity, especially in applications like wireless communications where both are critical. Achieving high efficiency can sometimes compromise linearity, leading to signal distortion. Engineers address this by selecting appropriate topologies, implementing linearization techniques, and carefully optimizing biasing and matching networks. Collaboration with system architects and RF layout engineers is also essential to ensure that the amplifier meets overall system requirements while maintaining manufacturability and reliability.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a power amplifier design engineer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Power Amplifier Design Engineer, you need a strong background in RF/microwave engineering, circuit design, and a relevant degree such as electrical engineering. Experience with simulation tools like ADS, Cadence, or HFSS and familiarity with PCB layout and test equipment are typically required. Analytical thinking, attention to detail, and effective communication are essential soft skills for collaborating with teams and solving complex design challenges. These skills and qualifications ensure the creation of reliable, high-performance amplifiers critical to modern communication and electronic systems.
What are popular job titles related to Power Amplifier Design Engineer jobs in California? For Power Amplifier Design Engineer jobs in California, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Power Amplifier Design Engineer jobs in California look for? The top searched job categories for Power Amplifier Design Engineer jobs in California are:
Power Amplifier Design Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Power Amplifier Design Engineer job openings in California as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 87% Full Time, 8% Part Time, and 5% Contract. Highlights an 85% Physical, 4% Hybrid, and 11% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $149,022 per year, or $71.6 per hour.

Power Optimization Engineer

Etched

Cupertino, CA • On-site

$2.0K/mo

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision

Re-posted 14 days ago

Job description

About Etched
Etched is building AI chips that are hard-coded for individual model architectures. Our first product (Sohu) only supports transformers, but has an order of magnitude more throughput and lower latency than a B200. With Etched ASICs, you can build products that would be impossible with GPUs, like real-time video generation models and extremely deep & parallel chain-of-thought reasoning agents.
Key responsibilities
  • Develop chip power model from chip architecture, estimate chip power from microarchitecture, and devise power saving techniques for product use cases.
  • Work closely with Architects, Performance Engineers, Software Engineers, ASIC Design Engineers, and Physical Design teams to implement design for optimal power using advanced power management techniques.
  • Estiate and analyze power consumption data at both full-chip and unit levels, guiding ASIC teams to enhance the power efficiency of all functional units both pre-silicon and post silicon. Correlate the estimated power consumption to the measured power.

You may be a good fit if you have
  • Experience in power optimization using dynamic voltage and frequency scaling techniques, power aware synthesis, glitch power reduction techniques as well as efficient power delivery network implementation.
  • Experience with gate-level power optimization through VCD-based and/or FSDB-based power analysis.
  • Strong understanding of concepts of energy consumption, estimation, data movement, low power design, and power-saving features.

Strong candidates may also have experience with
  • Digital design and optimization using industry-standard power analysis tools and methodologies.
  • Leading power optimization at RTL and layout level using PrimePower, VCD-based analysis, DVFS, clock power reduction, clock gating, and glitch reduction techniques.

Benefits
  • Full medical, dental, and vision packages, with 100% of premium covered
  • Housing subsidy of $2,000/month for those living within walking distance of the office
  • Daily lunch and dinner in our office
  • Relocation support for those moving to Cupertino

How we're different
Etched believes in the Bitter Lesson. We think most of the progress in the AI field has come from using more FLOPs to train and run models, and the best way to get more FLOPs is to build model-specific hardware. Larger and larger training runs encourage companies to consolidate around fewer model architectures, which creates a market for single-model ASICs.
We are a fully in-person team in Cupertino, and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both as needed.

Apply