Hardware Development Engineer

The Role: Sensus, a Xylem brand, seeks to hire a Senior Hardware/Hardware Development Engineer who will be part of a team responsible for the design, development, verification and sustaining of a wide variety of products that are the responsibility of the Global Electrical Engineering Functional team. This includes, but is not limited to, water, electric and gas meters, smartpoint radios, cathodic protection devices, smart gateways, Distribution Automation products, handheld computers, installation and interrogation devices and a wide variety of RF communication products. These products are state-of-the art microcontroller or DSP based embedded systems, typically with integrated radios, where the electronic design may be battery or mains powered and must operate in harsh environments for 20 years.  This position may be located in Morrisville, NC or Boise Idaho.

The Senior Hardware/Hardware Development Engineer will be part of the Global Electrical Engineering Team consisting of dedicated and talented individuals responsible for the development, test and support of products comprising the Sensus water, gas and electric families. The team designs, tests and supports products that meet utility and industry requirements as well as internal requirements for reliability, performance, accuracy, and cost. As part of the Global Hardware team this person will:

• Work on new product development efforts from concept through transition to high volume production. The product development life cycle includes analyzing requirements, developing concepts, performing feasibility studies, component selection, analog/digital/RF design, schematic capture, PCB layout, prototype builds and board bring-up activities, product verification testing, reliability and regulatory testing, establishment of manufacturing test plans and processes and transition of products to a high volume manufacturing facility
• Products being developed may include water/gas/electric metrology products, communication devices/communication products, specifically on the design, implementation and verification of baseband circuitry (including but not limited to microcontroller, power conversion, battery management, metrology, analog interface, communications and sensors).
• Research available and emerging technologies to identify those that may be applicable for use in evolving the capabilities and offerings of new products.  Create proposals to enable detailed evaluation of said technologies and execute evaluations.
• Work closely with the mechanical and firmware teams, making architectural decisions and design tradeoffs (between mechanical, electrical, firmware, and system software considerations).  Collaborate throughout the entire development cycle to ensure a product is delivered that meets all requirements.
• Establish and execute a hardware designer test plan to ensure the design is well centered, meets the product requirements and operates properly over all environmental conditions.
• Design products to adhere to design for test and manufacturability guidelines.
• Provide complete life cycle ownership of products, addressing post introduction field and factory issues as required.
• Perform detailed current consumption analysis on all new product releases (HW and FW) to validate compliance with energy constraints.  Update process and methods to improve automation, efficiency and repeatability.
• Contribute to the continued development of processes and procedures in multiple areas.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering
• 2 – 8 years of electrical design experience, preferably focused on analog/digital design of battery operated embedded systems.
• Experience with the design of small signal circuits and maintaining signal/noise ratios in an RF environment
• Experience using schematic capture and PCB layout tools (Altium preferred), analog simulation (LT Spice or equivalent), typical lab tools such as oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzer, power supplies, multimeters, etc.
• Excellent testing and troubleshooting skills
• The ability and desire to work in a fast paced team environment, working with a cross functional team (e.g. electrical, firmware, mechanical and system test engineers) to create a fully functional system
• The ability to evaluate and make recommendations on cost control, reliability and manufacturability issues while maintaining aggressive development schedules.
• Work individually or as a team.
• Excellent communications skills
• Strong sense of ownership, willingness to engage across team boundaries to improve collaboration, solve challenges and overcome hurdles.
• Apply specific concepts from different methodologies to produce the optimal results in the most efficient manner possible.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Keen understanding of manufacturing operations as related to printed circuit board assembly
• Familiarity with manufacturing process of printed circuit boards and rigid/flexible PCB technologies
• Experience with Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design For Test (DFT) practices

We Offer You More Than Just “A Job”

• Professional Development – To advance the capabilities of our people, we offer a wide variety of experiences to support our employees’ professional growth and continuous learning.
• Total Rewards – We offer comprehensive programs for compensation, benefits, recognition, learning and development, work-life integration and corporate citizenship.
• Watermark – Watermark is our corporate social responsibility program working to provide education and access to safe water to ensure healthy lives, gender equality, and resilient communities. Employees have the opportunity to learn and volunteer on various water-related projects.
• Employee Networks – Our Employee Networks provide a professional, supportive network for employees from diverse backgrounds, including Women’s, LGBT+ and Allies, Veteran’s, People of Color and Allies, Emerging Leaders, and Working Parents Networks.