Title: Principal / Lead Wireless Communications System Architect
Location: US, Europe
Job Type: Full-Time / Consultant
Industry: Wireless Communications, Software-Defined Radio (SDR), Semiconductor IP and Advanced SoC
Job Description:
We are seeking a Principal / Lead Wireless Communications System Architect to own the definition and architectural direction of complex wireless and multi-antenna system platforms. This individual will serve as the primary technical interface with customer system teams, lead system modeling and performance analysis, drive architectural decisions across mixed-signal and digital subsystems, and define system-level specifications that translate into silicon implementations.
This is a senior leadership role with substantial influence across product definition, roadmap direction, and customer engagement. The ideal candidate has a deep understanding of communications theory, system decomposition across analog/digital boundaries, quantization/error propagation, MIMO signal processing architectures, and end-to-end error budgeting strategies in SDR-based environments.
Key Responsibilities:
Technical Leadership and Direction: Define system architecture for next-generation multi-antenna and SDR-based communication platforms, influencing product strategy and long-term roadmap planning.
Customer Technical Ownership: Lead technical engagement with strategic customers, representing system trade-offs, negotiating performance specifications, and aligning joint integration plans.
End-to-End System Modeling: Architect and maintain MATLAB and analytical models capturing the full signal chain, including channel modeling, quantization noise allocation, SNR budgeting, interplay of RF non-linearities, and DSP algorithm design constraints.
Block-Level Specification Ownership: Generate precise block-level specifications for digital baseband, calibration engines, channel processing, mixed-signal converters, and RF interfacing elements; ensure internal teams understand the architectural rationale behind these specifications.
Cross-Domain Integration: Drive alignment between digital architecture, signal processing algorithms, mixed-signal circuit selections, ADC/DAC dynamic range decisions, LO/subsystem noise considerations, and thermal/power constraints.
System Verification Alignment: Collaborate with validation and silicon bring-up teams to ensure post-silicon results trace back to modeled assumptions; define measurement-level KPIs and debug methodologies when deviations arise.
Mentorship & Team Development: Provide architectural guidance to system engineers, signal processing developers, and hardware design teams; develop reusable models, internal best practices, and system-level methodologies.
Thought Leadership: Participate in internal architecture reviews, contribute to core IP innovation strategy, and represent the company in technical engagements, standards-relevant discussions, and key customer milestones.
Qualifications:
Graduate degree in Electrical Engineering, Communications Engineering, or related field; PhD strongly preferred.
12+years of experience in wireless communications system architecture for advanced SDR systems.
Demonstrated ownership of end-to-end communication signal chains, including cascaded error budgeting, quantization trade-offs, and performance modeling across RF, ADC/DAC, and DSP blocks.
Deep expertise in:
MIMO and multi-user spatial processing architectures,
Channel estimation,
SNR/phase-noise budgets and their mapping into mixed-signal design requirements
System-level modeling using MATLAB or Python,
Ability to articulate complex system decisions to both internal engineering teams and senior-level customers.
Proven leadership in defining specifications consumed by RTL design, mixed-signal design, verification, and system validation teams.
Strong customer communication skills and comfort presenting architectural trade-offs to VP- and CTO-level stakeholders.
What We Offer:
Highly competitive compensation, performance incentives, and substantial technical influence.
Direct ownership of architecture direction for multiple next-generation communication product lines.
Opportunity to shape strategic relationships with top-tier global customers.
A technical culture that values rigor, clarity, and architectural craftsmanship.
