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About the Role

We are hiring a Principal Hardware Engineer to own the board-level control electronics at the core of our chip-scale atomic clock. This is a circuit board design role where you will take precision analog and RF boards from schematic through layout, bring-up, characterization, and production. You will be the senior hardware engineer on the clock, owning the analog front end, microwave synthesis chain, laser drive and thermal control electronics, and the boards that tie them together. You will work daily with our AMO physics, photonics, firmware, and systems teams, and set the standard for hardware design at Mesa Quantum. This is a hands-on principal role where you are expected to personally do the bulk of the circuit and PCB design work.

Responsibilities

Design and lay out multi-layer precision analog and RF circuit boards yourself, from schematic capture and simulation through PCB layout, fabrication, bring-up, and debug
Own the precision analog front end: photodetector signal conditioning, low-noise transimpedance and instrumentation amplification, and lock-in detection for weak atomic signal recovery
Design and validate the microwave synthesis chain that drives atomic interrogation, including PLL and VCO design, phase noise optimization, and reference distribution
Design precision VCSEL current drive and thermal control electronics for the laser and physics package
Architect successive generations of the control electronics, driving size, power, and noise down at each iteration
Build characterization protocols, test fixtures, and automation to validate clock performance against Allan deviation, phase noise, and holdover targets
Partner with firmware engineers on the hardware and software interface, and with physicists on the system noise budget
Drive Design for Manufacturability and Design for Test with PCB fabricators, assembly houses, and contract manufacturers as we scale toward volume production
Set hardware design standards, lead design reviews, and mentor engineers

Requirements

10+ years of board-level analog and RF hardware design, including at least one product taken from prototype through volume production
A track record of multi-layer boards you personally designed and laid out, mixing sensitive analog, RF, and digital circuits: stack-up definition, controlled impedance, grounding and return-path control, shielding, and thermal management
Current, hands-on proficiency in a professional PCB design tool such as Altium Designer, Cadence Allegro/OrCAD, or KiCad
Deep expertise in low-noise precision analog: signal conditioning, low-noise amplifiers, ADC and DAC interfacing, and rigorous noise budgeting
RF circuit design through GHz frequencies, with hands-on experience in low phase noise frequency synthesis, PLLs, and VCOs
Strong SPICE simulation and circuit analysis skills, including noise, stability, and tolerance analysis
Hands-on bench proficiency with oscilloscopes, spectrum and phase noise analyzers, network analyzers, source measure units, and signal generators
Scripting experience for instrument control, characterization, and data analysis
Version control (Git or similar) for hardware design files
Chip-scale atomic clocks, rubidium or cesium oscillators, OCXOs, or other precision frequency references
Optoelectronics: VCSEL or laser diode drive, photodetector readout, laser frequency locking
Embedded firmware in C/C++ on ARM Cortex-M class microcontrollers
FPGA development in Verilog or SystemVerilog, including real-time DSP (lock-in detection, PID, digital filtering)
Hardware design under hard size, weight, and power budgets
Board-level integration of custom mixed-signal silicon, including block specification or characterization
Hands-on management of PCB fabricators, assembly houses, and contract manufacturers
Defense, aerospace, or space-qualified hardware experience
Familiarity with atomic physics or other quantum sensing modalities
Experience leading or mentoring a small hardware team

Skills

Analog circuit design
RF circuit design
PCB design
Schematic capture
Simulation
Layout
Bring-up
Characterization
Debug
Precision analog front end design
Photodetector signal conditioning
Low-noise transimpedance amplification
Instrumentation amplification
Lock-in detection
Microwave synthesis chain design
PLL design
VCO design
Phase noise optimization
Reference distribution
VCSEL current drive electronics
Thermal control electronics
Test fixture design
Automation
Allan deviation analysis
Phase noise analysis
Holdover target validation
Hardware/software interface design
System noise budgeting
Design for Manufacturability (DFM)
Design for Test (DFT)
Hardware design standards
Design reviews
Mentoring
Altium Designer
Cadence Allegro/OrCAD
KiCad
SPICE simulation
Circuit analysis
Noise analysis
Stability analysis
Tolerance analysis
Oscilloscope operation
Spectrum analyzer operation
Phase noise analyzer operation
Network analyzer operation
Source measure unit operation
Signal generator operation
Scripting
Instrument control
Data analysis
Git
Chip-scale atomic clocks
Rubidium oscillators
Cesium oscillators
OCXOs
Precision frequency references
Optoelectronics
Laser diode drive
Photodetector readout
Laser frequency locking
Embedded firmware (C/C++)
ARM Cortex-M
FPGA development (Verilog/SystemVerilog)
Real-time DSP
Digital filtering
Mixed-signal silicon integration
Atomic physics
Quantum sensing

Location

London, UK

Work Type

Full-time
On-site

Experience Level

Principal
10+ years

Benefits

Meaningful equity in a deep-tech company at the inflection point between prototype and product
Comprehensive benefits package

About the Company

Mesa Quantum is building the manufacturing backbone of the quantum economy.
We specialize in chip-scale quantum devices, starting with clocks and sensors, that unlock resilient Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) for defense, telecom, space, and critical infrastructure.
Our team combines world-class expertise in AMO physics, photonics, microfabrication, and engineering to transform breakthrough science into scalable, deployable technology.
Backed by top-tier deep-tech investors and the U.S. Department of Defense, Mesa Quantum is rapidly scaling and actively recruiting exceptional innovators who want to build the future of quantum technology from the ground up.