Senior Electronics PCB & ECAD Design Engineer - RF & Mixed Signal (m/f/d)
Own electronic hardware end-to-end at a Munich robotics/defense startup: take designs from schematic capture and multilayer PCB layout through manufacturing release, then bring up, debug, and rework boards hands-on. Core stack is Altium Designer and Cadence OrCAD/Allegro, focused on RF communication hardware for drone and robot swarms, on-site in Munich most days.
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- München
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Senior
- Employment
- Not specified
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Category
- Engineering design
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- 5+ years of professional experience in electronic hardware and PCB development
- Degree in electrical engineering, electronics, or comparable technical foundation
- Track record of independently taking PCBs from schematic to manufacturing release, with boards in production
- Strong schematic design and component selection skills, working confidently from datasheets
- Strong PCB layout skills on multilayer and high-density boards incl. blind/buried vias; solid grounding, power distribution, differential interfaces, controlled impedance, high-speed design
- Practical understanding of PCB fabrication and PCBA assembly, incl. direct work with manufacturers
- Hands-on lab skills: board bring-up, debugging, lab equipment, soldering, rework
- Strong experience in at least one professional ECAD environment (Altium Designer, Cadence OrCAD/Allegro, Siemens Xpedition, or comparable)
- Ownership mindset: drive designs forward without continuous supervision, document design changes
- Fluent English (German is a plus)
- Willingness to undergo security vetting where projects require it
- Based in Munich or willing to relocate
Nice to have
- Experience with Altium Designer and BOM Portal, and/or Cadence OrCAD/Allegro
- Experience with BOM management or component lifecycle tools
- RF and wireless electronics or communication systems
- Ethernet and high-speed digital interfaces, power electronics, or embedded systems
- EMC/EMI-conscious design and experience taking products through EMC and radio certification (CE/RED)
- Electronics for robotics, UAVs, or ruggedized systems, ideally in defense, aerospace, or regulated environment
- Connector selection, wiring harness, and pinout definition
- Scripting or engineering automation
Full description
Hive Robotics is building Europe’s first full-stack orchestration platform for unmanned systems: connecting, controlling, and commanding multi-vendor drone and robot swarms. Our RF communication systems are Made in Germany, deployed on active frontlines, and targeting a highly valued tactical communication market with zero sovereign alternatives today.
As our Senior Electronics Hardware Engineer, you own our electronic designs end to end: from requirements through schematic capture, PCB layout, and manufacturing release to bring-up and debugging. You take a hardware requirement and independently turn it into a robust, manufacturable PCB assembly, spot problems early, and keep projects moving without waiting for direction. This is a hands-on individual contributor role. Most importantly, you enjoy designing hardware yourself and seeing it ship. You report into our CTO organization.
Bring-up, rework, and close work with mechanical, firmware, and production happen hands-on in our Munich office, so we expect you on site most days of the week.
Schematic & PCB Design
- Own electronic hardware designs from requirements to manufacturing release, including schematics and design reviews
- Select components based on performance, availability, lifecycle, cost, and manufacturability
- Place and route multilayer boards, and define stack-ups, design rules, controlled-impedance requirements, and layout constraints
- Review designs for manufacturability, reliability, EMC, signal and power integrity, and thermal behavior where relevant
- Design with certification in mind: support EMC and radio (CE/RED) pre-compliance and certification testing with external labs, and feed the findings back into the design
ECAD Libraries & Engineering Data
- Create and maintain schematic symbols, footprints, padstacks, and ECAD libraries
- Define and maintain electrical, physical, and manufacturing design rule sets
- Keep engineering data clean: design documentation, revision history, and versioning that let anyone pick up a design later and improve it
- Improve engineering workflows and automate repetitive tasks where it pays off
Manufacturing & Supply
- Generate, review, and release manufacturing outputs and technical documentation
- Work directly with PCB fabrication and PCBA assembly partners on stack-ups, fabrication constraints, assembly guidelines, and production requirements
- Review BOMs and qualify alternative components based on availability, lifecycle, and technical requirements, together with Operations
- Make sure designs scale from prototype runs to serial production volumes
Bring-up, Test & Integration
- Bring up, debug, and validate boards, including burn-in testing, soldering, and rework