Hardware Development Engineer

S

sensus

Hardware Development Engineer

Morrisville, NC
Paid
  • Responsibilities

    Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology company committed to developing innovative technology solutions to the world’s water challenges. The Company’s products and services move, treat, analyze, monitor and return water to the environment in public utility, industrial, residential and commercial building services settings.  With its October 2016 acquisition of Sensus, Xylem added smart metering, network technologies and advanced data analytics for water, gas and electric utilities to its portfolio of solutions.  The combined Company’s nearly 16,000 employees bring broad applications expertise with a strong focus on identifying comprehensive, sustainable solutions.  Headquartered in Rye Brook, New York with 2016 revenue of $3.8 billion, Xylem does business in more than 150 countries through a number of market-leading product brands.

    The name Xylem is derived from classical Greek and is the tissue that transports water in plants, highlighting the engineering efficiency of our water-centric business by linking it with the best water transportation of all – that which occurs in nature. For more information, please visit us at www.xylem.com.

    Sensus, a Xylem brand, helps a wide range of public service providers – from utilities to cities to industrial complexes and campuses – do more with their infrastructure to improve quality of life in their communities. We enable our customers to reach farther through the application of technology and data-driven insights that deliver efficiency and responsiveness. We partner with them to anticipate and respond to evolving business needs with innovation in sensing and communications technologies, data analytics and services. Learn more at sensus.com and follow @SensusGlobal on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

    THE ROLE: Sensus, a Xylem brand, seeks to hire a Senior Hardware Engineer who will be part of a team responsible for the design, development, verification and introduction of water and gas metrology products. These products are state-of-the art microcontroller or DSP based embedded systems where the electronic design is typically battery powered and must operate in harsh environmental conditions for 20 years.

    ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

    The Hardware Development Engineer will be part of a team of dedicated and talented engineers responsible for the development of Sensus water and gas metrology products. These products meet utility and industry requirements as well as internal requirements for reliability, performance, accuracy and cost. As part of the hardware design engineering team this person will:

    • Work on the development of meter/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). 
    • Work on new product development, starting with conceptual definition through transition to high volume production. The product development life cycle includes analyzing requirements, developing concepts and performing feasibility studies, component selection, simulation, schematic capture and PCB layout, prototype builds and board bring-up activities, product verification testing, reliability, systems and regulatory testing and transition of the product to a high volume manufacturing facility. 
    • Work closely with the mechanical and firmware development teams, making architectural and conceptual decisions and design tradeoffs to reach the optimal solution balancing technical capabilities with business requirements.
    • Work independently and across the organization to develop and execute a hardware design verification plan to ensure new designs meet the reliability requirements for high-volume, 20-year life products.
    • Working in conjunction with the FW and Test Engineering teams, lead the development of Manufacturing Test strategies and write the specificationto define the board and systems level manufacturing test procedures. Work with various team members to develop and build test stations to validate moderate volume prototype builds. 
    • Design products for test and manufacturability (DFT and DFM) to ensure high manufacturing throughput and yields.
    • Provide complete life cycle ownership of products, addressing post introduction field and factory issues as required.
    • Provide leadership and guidance to junior team members as required.
    • Simultaneously balance multiple responsibilities.

    MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

    • B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering with a minimum of 15 years of analog and digital electronic (embedded system) design experience,preferably involving battery operated RF devices deployed in harsh environments. 
    • Experience with analog design and optimizing circuit performance/SNR in mixed signal applications. 
    • Experience with NFC, Bluetooth and rechargeable battery technologies. 
    • Experience using schematic capture tools (Altium preferred), analog simulation, PCB layout, LTSpice and additional tools as required to design and validate electronic and RF designs. Extensive knowledge ofelectronic lab equipment is required.
    • Experience with Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Design For Test (DFT).
    • Experience in designing products for deployment in harsh environments. 
    • Excellent testing and troubleshooting skills 
    • Ability to generate clear, concise documentation for test plans/test results.
    • The ability and desire to work in a fast paced environment, interacting across departmental boundaries as needed to create a world class product. Able to work with a cross functional team (e.g. electrical, firmware, mechanical, manufacturing, quality and system test teams) as well as independently as the situation requires.
    • The ability to evaluate and make recommendations on cost, reliability and manufacturability challenges while maintaining aggressive development schedules 
    • Must have a strong sense of ownership and responsibility. 
    • Experience with industry standards for manufacturing (IPC) and regulatory compliance (FCC, intrinsic safety).
    • Excellent communications skills with the ability to convey technical concepts in business terms.

    PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

    (The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)

    • Light lifting (20-25 lbs.), office environment
    • Regularly required to sit or stand, reach, bend and move about the facility

    WORK ENVIRONMENT:

    (The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.)

    • Office: Standard office equipment; work usually performed in an office setting free from any disagreeable elements.
    • Standard weekly job hours: 40 hours

    EOE/FEMALES/MINORITIES/PROTECTED VETERANS/DISABLED