Location: Burlington, ON, Canada
Our Team:
Semtech’s Signal Integrity Products Applications Team is a group of experienced, passionate and talented engineers tasked to support and deliver industry-leading integrated circuits. The Applications Team provides innovative solutions to enable Data Center and Mobile Transport markets. We enable our customers and partners to achieve a new standard of product performance, overcoming complex problems in their system to accelerate their time to market.
Job Summary:
The Senior Applications Engineer is a seasoned individual contributor and a cornerstone of the applications team. Operating with a planning horizon of 6 to 12 months, this role is assigned to a specific product and is expected to independently plan, lead, and execute against it — delegating sub-tasks where appropriate and overseeing their completion. The Senior Engineer is the primary technical point of contact for customers on their assigned product, sets up and chairs customer calls, attends and demonstrates products at external events, and is recognized by customers as a trusted and knowledgeable resource. This level represents full mastery of the applications engineering discipline — a seasoned professional who has earned their expertise and can be relied upon to drive results independently.
Responsibilities:
1. NPI Project Support & Product Ownership (50%)
This role carries ownership across three interdependent NPI workstreams: module firmware development, internal infrastructure and test tooling, and on-board copper application support for the CopperEdge product portfolio. The Senior Engineer is expected to independently plan, execute, and deliver across these areas while acting as the technical bridge between hardware, applications, and software teams.
- Collaborate closely with hardware, applications and software teams to define, develop, and validate module firmware for assigned products - ensuring alignment between firmware behaviour and system-level performance requirements.
- Own the applications engineering perspective in firmware development cycles: translate lab characterization data and customer application insights into actionable firmware requirements and validation criteria.
- Lead or contribute to in-lab firmware bring-up and integration testing, working with cross-functional teams to identify and resolve issues at the hardware/firmware interface.
- Develop and maintain firmware test procedures and validation reports that document performance against specification and support customer qualification activities.
- Communicate firmware status, risks, and findings clearly to both internal engineering teams and external customers, adapting the level of detail to the audience.
- Design and develop firmware for in-house test equipment and infrastructure solutions used across the applications and NPI lab environment, with a focus on reliability, repeatability, and ease of use.
- Work with the broader applications team to define internal tooling requirements, translating lab workflow needs into embedded firmware features that improve test efficiency and automation.
- Maintain and iterate on deployed firmware solutions, incorporating feedback from lab users to enhance functionality and resolve field-identified issues.
- Document firmware architecture, configuration procedures, and usage guides to support knowledge transfer and team scalability.
- Identify opportunities to standardize and modularize firmware components across multiple test platforms, reducing duplication and accelerating future development cycles.
- Serve as the applications engineering lead for on-board copper applications within the CopperEdge product portfolio, independently defining test strategies and validating system-level performance across relevant host and module configurations.
- Develop and execute signal integrity characterization and compliance testing for on-board copper channels, interpreting S-parameters and link budget data to provide actionable guidance to customers and internal teams.
- Partner with customers on CopperEdge design-in activities, providing pre-sales technical support, performance characterizations, and design optimization recommendations across their on-board copper application environments.
- Accurately identify application risks, estimate task timelines, and develop project plans that ensure NPI deliverables are met on schedule; communicate status and risks clearly to both internal and external stakeholders.
- Contribute ideas to improve test automation and tooling for on-board copper characterization, and develop technical collateral — application notes, test reports, and design guides — that accelerate customer adoption of the CopperEdge portfolio.
- Independently structure problems, challenge results, and recommend solutions based on evidence, with a strong focus on real-world application fit across data center and high-speed interconnect environments.
2. Customer Support & Relationship Management (25%)
- Serve as the primary point of contact for customers on the assigned product, setting up and chairing customer calls and acting with the confidence and authority of a trusted technical advisor.
- Independently lead root cause analyses to recreate and resolve customer issues, providing complete and timely technical solutions that defend and drive revenue.
- Attend and demonstrate Semtech products at external events including customer sites and industry tradeshows, representing the company with professionalism and technical depth.
- Prioritize tasks across NPI projects and customer support issues efficiently, communicating timelines clearly and making informed decisions about trade-offs even with limited information.
- Collaborate with FAEs and sales teams to provide pre-sales technical support including product demonstrations, performance characterizations, and feasibility assessments.
- Support customer qualification testing by providing test procedures, interpreting results, and recommending design optimizations; communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Create technical customer collateral — test reports, application notes, and design guides — that are accurate, well-structured, and useful to a range of customer audiences.
- Develop strong relationships with key customer stakeholders, building trust through consistent technical excellence and reliable follow-through.
3. Industry & External Engagement (10%)
- Attend conferences and tradeshows to represent Semtech, demonstrating products, addressing technical questions, and building relationships with customers and ecosystem peers.
- Develop working knowledge of relevant industry standards — including Ethernet, OIF, and IEEE specifications — and apply this knowledge to guide customers through compliance and interoperability challenges.
- Participate in interoperability events and multi-vendor testing scenarios to validate Semtech’s solutions in real-world ecosystem environments.
- Begin building an external professional network that provides visibility into customer needs, competitive developments, and emerging application trends.
4. Mentorship & Team Leadership (15%)
- Provide leadership at the applications team level for the assigned product, including guiding Staff Engineers through complex tasks and helping them develop both technical and customer-facing skills.
- Independently lead tasks without requiring support, and serve as a reliable resource that other team members can turn to for guidance on product-specific questions.
- Build trust and constructive relationships within and beyond the applications team through consistent, high-quality work and open, honest communication.
- Communicate and present clearly and effectively to a range of audiences, including explaining technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders such as sales, marketing, and customer program managers.
- Effectively advocate for customer needs and product improvements in internal forums, ensuring that the voice of the customer is well-represented in NPI and roadmap discussions.
- Thrive in a dynamic and changing environment, demonstrating adaptability and composure when priorities shift or new challenges arise.
Travel Requirements:
This role requires domestic and international travel approximately once per quarter. Travel may include any combination of the following:
- Conference and tradeshow attendance to represent Semtech, demonstrate products, and engage with the broader industry ecosystem (e.g., OFC, ECOC, CIOE, OCP).
- Interoperability and multi-vendor testing events to validate Semtech’s solutions in real-world customer and partner environments.
- On-site customer visits for technical promotion, pre-sales demonstrations, product qualification support, or hands-on debug of critical field issues.
- Internal training sessions, team off-sites, or cross-functional planning meetings at Semtech facilities.
While travel is not expected to be frequent, the ability and willingness to travel on short notice when customer or business needs require it is an important aspect of this role. The candidate should hold or be eligible to obtain a valid passport for international travel.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, or a related discipline; a Master’s degree or equivalent is preferred. Typically requires a minimum of 8 years of relevant industry experience; an advanced degree may substitute for up to 2 years of experience.
- Minimum 8 years of relevant industry experience in signal integrity, optical transceivers, active copper cables, or high-speed host system qualification.
- Demonstrated ability to independently lead an application workstream for a specific product, including planning, execution, and customer-facing responsibilities.
- Hands-on experience with embedded firmware development for optical modules, copper cable assemblies, or test and measurement equipment, with a track record of delivering production-quality firmware in cross-functional team environments.
- Familiarity with module management interfaces (e.g., CMIS, I2C, SPI) and firmware development workflows for pluggable or on-board optical/copper modules.
- Experience developing or maintaining firmware for in-house test infrastructure, lab automation platforms, or custom measurement equipment is a strong asset.
- Mastery of signal integrity fundamentals with strong practical expertise in PAM4 signaling, TxFIR, and receiver equalization theory and application.
- Proficiency in RF and signal integrity measurements including VNA, S-parameter analysis, and advanced PCB design for high-speed applications.
- Proficiency with test and measurement equipment including Bit Error Rate Testers, Oscilloscopes, and Network Analyzers; experienced in planning, implementing, and interpreting complex test scenarios.
- Working knowledge of Ethernet standards and data center networking architectures and their implications for Semtech’s product applications.
- Experience with Python scripting for equipment control, automation, and data analysis.
- Knowledge or ability to learn base operating systems of networking hardware (Arista CLI, Open Network Linux, etc.).
- Proven ability to independently structure and solve complex technical and customer problems, formulate the right questions, and drive issues to resolution.
- Strong written and oral communication skills, with demonstrated ability to set up and lead customer calls, present at external events, and tailor messaging to diverse audiences.
- Effective project management skills — able to manage multiple competing priorities, accurately estimate task timelines, and deliver consistently without sacrificing quality under schedule pressure.
- Contribution to inventions, technical advances, or conference/white paper publications is an asset and encouraged at this level.
The intent of this job description is to describe the major duties and responsibilities performed by incumbents of this job. Incumbents may be required to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically included in this description.
All duties and responsibilities are essential job functions and requirements and are subject to possible modification to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities.
A reasonable estimate of the pay range for this position is $102,000 - $125,000. There are several factors taken into consideration in determining base salary, including but not limited to: job-related qualifications, skills, education and experience, as well as job location and the value of other elements of an employee’s total compensation package.
