Sr Staff RF Development Engineer

About this role

Forming Our Future together FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ: FORM), is a leading provider of essential test and measurement technologies along the full semiconductor product life cycle — from characterization, modeling, reliability, and design de-bug, to qualification and production test. Semiconductor companies rely upon FormFactor’s products and services to accelerate profitability by optimizing device performance and advancing yield knowledge. The company serves customers through its network of facilities in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Rooted in our core values — Focus on the Customer, Ownership & Accountability, Respectfully & Effectively Communicate, and Motivate & Develop People — we foster an environment where diverse perspectives are not only welcomed but celebrated. Everyone can make an impact here. Whether it's improving products, supporting customers, or positively influencing peers and the community, the contributions of our people matter.

Shift: The regular hours for this position are day shift.

Job Description: The Sr Staff R&D Development Engineer serves as a recognized technical authority in radio frequency (RF), microwave, millimeter-wave, and high-speed interconnect technologies. This position provides strategic technical leadership that shapes product architectures, technology roadmaps, and long-term innovation initiatives across the organization.

The Sr Staff R&D Development Engineer leads the development of advanced RF test and measurement solutions through deep technical expertise, simulation-driven design, cross-functional influence, and engagement with customers and industry partners. This role leads highly complex initiatives with significant impact on product performance, business growth, customer success, and competitive differentiation.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership and Innovation • Define and influence long-term technology strategies, product architectures, and technical roadmaps for RF and high-speed interconnect solutions.

• Serve as a recognized subject matter expert in RF design, electromagnetic modeling, calibration methodologies, measurement science, and high-speed interconnect technology.

• Lead the development of next-generation RF technologies, methodologies, and design practices that enable future product platforms and establish competitive advantages.

• Drive technical innovation through advanced simulation-driven design methodologies, modeling techniques, measurement approaches, and validation strategies.

• Establish technical standards, engineering methodologies, and best practices that are adopted across multiple product lines and engineering teams.

• Identify and solve exceptionally complex technical challenges for which solutions may be ambiguous, incomplete, or not previously established.

• Provide technical guidance and recommendations on major research and development investments, product strategies, and technology decisions.

Product and Technology Development • Lead the architecture, design, modeling, development, and optimization of advanced RF and high-speed digital physical-layer interconnect structures and systems.

• Provide technical direction for the development and refinement of industry-leading RF calibration methodologies, including short-open-load (SOL), short-open-load-through (SOLT), short-open-load-reciprocal (SOLR), multiline thru-reflect-line (TRL), and emerging calibration approaches.

• Lead electromagnetic modeling, characterization, and validation activities to ensure product performance meets technical and customer requirements.

• Make critical technical decisions that influence product performance, system architecture, manufacturability, reliability, scalability, and business success.

• Ensure alignment among product capabilities, customer requirements, market trends, and long-term strategic objectives.

• Lead complex engineering tradeoff analyses involving electrical performance, risk, cost, manufacturability, reliability, and time-to-market.

• Develop and evaluate prototypes, test methods, experimental approaches, and proof-of-concept solutions for new technologies and product platforms.

• Guide products and technologies through the development lifecycle, including concept development, design validation, qualification, and transition to manufacturing.

RF Measurement and Validation • Develop advanced RF measurement, calibration, de-embedding, and error-correction methodologies.

• Define measurement strategies and test system architectures for the characterization and validation of RF, microwave, millimeter-wave, and high-speed interconnect solutions.

• Apply advanced knowledge of vector network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, power meters, and automated test systems.

• Analyze complex test and simulation data to identify performance limitations, correlations, design risks, and opportunities for improvement.

• Establish correlation methodologies among electromagnetic simulations, laboratory measurements, and production test results.

• Ensure measurement systems, calibration methods, and validation processes provide accurate, repeatable, and technically defensible results.

Customer and Market Leadership • Engage directly with strategic customers, industry partners, and key stakeholders to understand emerging technical challenges and future market requirements.

• Translate complex customer test and measurement needs into technology strategies, product requirements, research initiatives, and development plans.

• Partner with Product Management, Marketing, Applications Engineering, and Sales to define market-leading product requirements and technology differentiation strategies.

• Represent the organization as a technical leader during customer engagements, executive discussions, technical reviews, and strategic planning activities.

• Build trusted technical relationships with customers by providing expert consultation and developing innovative solutions to complex

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