Want to know if this job is worth applying to?
Palo Alto, California, United States
Onsite
About Us
At Vinci4D, we are building the next generation of multi-physics simulation software for semiconductor and electronics applications — tools that let engineers model thermal, fluid, electromagnetic, and structural phenomena in the same framework, from first principles to final answer. We are a small, technically deep team that moves fast, ships real software, and takes on problems that the established players have not solved well. If you want your work to be foundational to a platform that changes how the electronics industry designs its most demanding products, this is the place.
The Role
We are looking for a computational electromagnetics engineer with deep expertise in signal integrity simulation for the semiconductor and electronics industry. You understand Maxwell's equations well enough to derive discretisations from scratch, and you have shipped production EM solvers or SI analysis tools that real engineers have relied on to qualify packages, characterise high-speed channels, or sign off interfaces at multi-gigabit data rates.
You will design and implement EM solver capabilities within Vinci4D's multi-physics platform — spanning signal integrity analysis, frequency-domain and time-domain full-wave methods, and quasi-static extraction. You will bring the domain depth needed to make those tools genuinely useful for signal integrity, power integrity, and EM-thermal coupling workflows in semiconductor packaging and PCB design.
This is not a "run simulations for customers" role. You will be building the solvers themselves: formulating the problems mathematically, implementing the discretisations, validating against reference solutions, and integrating the results into a coupled multi-physics framework.
What You Will Work On
Design and implement frequency-domain and time-domain full-wave EM solvers targeting IC package, via, connector, and PCB interconnect structures at GHz frequencies
Develop S-parameter port extraction workflows — implementing waveport and lumped port excitations, Fourier-transforming time-domain responses, and producing touchstone-format output compatible with industry channel simulators
Build signal integrity analysis capabilities: transmission line characterisation, via resonance prediction, crosstalk analysis, and eye diagram generation from simulated channel responses
Implement time-domain methods (FDTD) with PML absorbing boundary conditions for broadband signal integrity and EMI analysis, including Gaussian pulse excitation and wideband S-parameter extraction in a single simulation run
Develop quasi-static field solvers for parasitic extraction — resistive, capacitive, and inductive — with frequency-dependent skin-effect corrections, producing RLGC outputs for SPICE and channel simulation workflows
Build the EM-to-thermal coupling layer: computing volumetric Ohmic dissipation from EM field solutions and passing it as a source term to Vinci4D's thermal solver, with support for iterative coupling under temperature-dependent material properties
Develop and maintain validation infrastructure: convergence tests, golden-output comparisons against commercial reference tools (HFSS, CST, SIwave), and SI-specific benchmarks covering via S-parameters, transmission line impedance, and crosstalk
Collaborate with the team to integrate EM capabilities into the Vinci app, delivering outputs in formats familiar to SI engineers: S-parameters, eye diagrams, impedance profiles, and RLGC matrices
What We Are Looking For
Deep working knowledge of computational electromagnetics: FDTD, FDFD, and quasi-static methods, with a clear understanding of when each is appropriate and what their failure modes are
Hands-on experience with signal integrity simulation for the semiconductor industry — high-speed channel analysis, package and via characterisation, transmission line extraction, crosstalk, or PDN impedance — with an understanding of the numerics behind the tools, not just their outputs
Solid understanding of the full SI simulation workflow: from 3D EM field solutions through S-parameter extraction, through channel simulation, to eye diagram and margin analysis
Experience implementing FDTD solvers including the Yee cell staggered update, CFL stability, PML or absorbing boundary conditions, and port-based S-parameter extraction via Fourier analysis of time-domain responses
Experience with frequency-domain EM (FDFD or equivalent) including complex material properties, frequency sweeps, and direct or iterative solution of the resulting sparse complex linear systems
Experience with quasi-static field solvers for resistive, capacitive, and inductive parasitic extraction, including frequency-dependent skin-effect modelling
Proficiency in C++ and/or Python in a performance-critical scientific computing context
Strong software engineering practices: Git, code review, automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and regression testing against reference solutions
Working knowledge of high-speed interface standards relevant to semiconductor packaging: PCIe, DDR5/6, HBM, LPDDR, or equivalent SerDes interfaces at data rates above 10 Gbps
Experience with S-parameter characterisation and touchstone file workflows — generating, validating, and consuming multi-port S-parameter models in a production SI context
Solid understanding of the scale hierarchy in SI simulation: what quasi-static extraction covers, where full-wave treatment is required, and how the two are combined in a complete channel model
Familiarity with the EM-thermal coupling path in high-speed packaging or power electronics: deriving Ohmic heating from EM field solutions and using it as a thermal source term
4–8 years of industry or research experience in computational electromagnetics applied to semiconductor packaging, PCB design, or high-speed electronics
Experience working within or closely alongside EDA-adjacent workflows — understanding how EM simulation outputs connect to circuit simulators, layout tools, and SI sign-off flows
A track record of delivering validated, production-quality solver code or extraction tools — not just academic prototypes
Able to communicate EM concepts clearly to a multi-disciplinary team that includes thermal engineers, CFD specialists, and software engineers without a CEM background
Collaborative and generous with knowledge: you document your formulations, write readable code, and help teammates understand the physics
Comfortable with ambiguity: requirements evolve, benchmarks are sometimes wrong, and the right numerical formulation is not always obvious upfront
Self-directed and ownership-oriented: you drive your work from mathematical formulation through implementation through validation to integration
Nice to Have
Experience with GPU acceleration of EM solvers — FDTD on CUDA, batched sparse solvers for frequency-domain systems, or matrix-free Krylov methods
Familiarity with domain decomposition methods for EM problems — Schwarz iterations, Robin transmission conditions, or Schur complement approaches applied to quasi-static or full-wave solvers
Background in Method of Moments (MoM) or boundary integral formulations, particularly for PCB power plane or EMC applications
Experience with model order reduction for EM: rational fitting (vector fitting), passivity enforcement, or PRIMA-type approaches for compact S-parameter models
Familiarity with power integrity — PDN impedance, simultaneous switching noise, decoupling capacitor placement — as a complement to signal integrity work
Experience with co-packaged optics or photonic integration and the associated RF-photonic SI challenges at the package level
Graduate degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in electrical engineering, applied mathematics, computational physics, or a related field with a CEM or SI focus
Why Vinci4D
Work on genuinely hard technical problems at the intersection of EM, thermal, and multi-physics simulation — problems the established EDA vendors have not fully solved
Join a small team where your contributions are visible, your formulations end up in the product, and your technical judgment shapes the architecture
Competitive compensation with equity participation
Flexible work environment
The satisfaction of building something from scratch — and the opportunity to define what the next generation of electronics simulation looks like
Vinci4D is an equal opportunity employer. We believe diverse teams build better software and welcome applicants from all backgrounds.