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Mesa Quantum is building chip-scale quantum devices for Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) applications serving defense, telecom, space, and critical infrastructure. The company specializes in atomic clocks and sensors backed by top-tier deep-tech investors and the U.S. Department of Defense.
You will own the board-level control electronics at the core of Mesa Quantum's chip-scale atomic clock. This is a hands-on principal role focused on circuit board design from schematic through layout, bring-up, characterization, and production—not IC design. You will personally execute the bulk of circuit and PCB design work.
Key responsibilities include:
- Design and lay out multi-layer precision analog and RF circuit boards 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 driving 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 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 hardware-software interface and with physicists on system noise budget
- Drive Design for Manufacturability and Design for Test with PCB fabricators, assembly houses, and contract manufacturers as the company scales toward volume production
- Set hardware design standards, lead design reviews, and mentor engineers
You will report to the CTO and work daily with AMO physics, photonics, firmware, and systems teams. This is a full-time, on-site role in London.
**Requirements:**
- 10+ years of board-level analog and RF hardware design, including at least one product taken from prototype through volume production
- Track record of multi-layer boards 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
**Strongly Preferred:**
- 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
