PCB Designer (Schematic / Layout)
About Build AI
Build AI is the data hyperscaler for Physical AI. We co-design hardware, collection, infrastructure, and research to scale the in-the-wild physical labor dataset by orders of magnitude. We learn from humans doing the real job, in real environments. Inflecting revenue, backed by top-tier investors and staffed by leading engineers, Build is becoming the bottleneck to solving physical labor.
Job Summary
We're hiring a PCB designer in Shenzhen to own schematic and layout for the hardware we collect with. Collection devices have to be simple, manufacturable, and high-bandwidth: a camera people can wear while they do the real job, not a science project. A generalist who can also write firmware is strongly preferred.
Key Responsibilities
Own schematic capture and layout for collection hardware (hats, mounts, camera boards), from first spin through factory revisions
Design for the buses that are actually on the device: camera (MIPI or equivalent), storage, USB/wireless, power, I2C/SPI/UART — with impedance control and SI where it matters
Bring up boards, debug with firmware and mechanical, and close the loop into DFM for Shenzhen manufacturing (stack-ups, yield, parts we can actually get)
Create and maintain PCBA documentation: schematics, BOMs, assembly notes, and test plans for bring-up and factory
Work with firmware so boot, capture, storage, and upload are one system, not a board thrown over the wall
Push revisions fast as we scale sites and SKUs. Resist extra sensors and extra complexity that cuts how many devices we can field
You may be a good fit if you have (Must-have qualifications)
You have shipped real PCBs: schematic, layout, bring-up, and into manufacturing, not only a school board
Comfortable in Altium, KiCad, Cadence, or equivalent, and in a factory for a spin
You think in yield, cost, and whether the device still works on a worker's head after a week
Understanding of SI basics, power distribution, and DFM for the class of board we will actually build
Fine in Shenzhen, in factories, and in a team under 30 that is blitzscaling a dataset
Strong candidates may also have experience with (Nice-to-have qualifications)
Firmware experience (bring-up, drivers, simple capture/upload). We would rather hire a generalist than a schematic-only specialist
Camera interfacing, high-speed design, or flex/rigid-flex for wearables
SI/PI tools, or experience taking a board from prototype to volume in Shenzhen
Benefits
Medical, dental, and vision packages with generous premium coverage
$500 per month credit for waiving medical benefits
Housing subsidy of $2k per month for those living within walking distance of the office
Relocation support for those moving to San Francisco (Financial District) or Shenzhen (Nanshan)
Various wellness benefits covering fitness, mental health, and more
Daily lunch and dinner in our office
Unlimited compute budget subject to ROI justification
Travel
How we're different
Build believes in the Bitter Lesson. We are betting early on learning from real human work at massive scale, and that the economies of scale of collection beat extra sensors and extra fidelity. Our addressable market is all physical labor, unlike many of our competitors.
We are a fully in-person team in San Francisco (Financial District) and Shenzhen (Nanshan), and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both and work across disciplines as needed.
Build AI is an equal opportunity employer. We review every application. If you do not meet every bullet, still apply. Questions: research@build.ai