SECTION I · THE BRIEF
Brief #30603Updated 22 OCT 2026US - HEADQUARTERSLeverTIGER GLOBAL MANAGEMENT
Employbl Company Profile

Senior Principal Engineer, SerDes Transmitter

Upscale AI is a high‑performance AI networking company accelerating AI democratization with open‑standard and full‑stack turnkey solutions.

Location
US - Headquarters
Company size
100–500
Posted
Today
Via
Lever
Section II · Full ProfileFree with an account
  • 01Comp band & equity packageLocked
  • 02Seniority & experience requirementsLocked
  • 03Interview process & rubricLocked
  • 04Headcount & which departments are hiringLocked
  • 05Growth trajectory in this roleLocked
  • 06Offer & decision timelineLocked

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Senior Principal Engineer, SerDes Transmitter

Upscale AI· US - HeadquartersView company profile


Job title
Senior Principal Engineer, SerDes Transmitter
Job location
US - Headquarters
Job description

Why join Upscale, Inc.

Upscale, Inc., is building the high-performance infrastructure powering the next generation of artificial intelligence. Backed by over $500M in funding and rapid global adoption, we are scaling systems designed for the world’s most demanding AI workloads.

We focus on first-principles engineering across silicon, systems, and networking—where performance, scale, and execution are critical. Our team is talent-dense and high-performing. We value ownership, technical rigor, and speed, and we offer the opportunity to work on foundational problems with immediate, real-world impact.

If you’re looking to do high-impact work, move fast, and help define the infrastructure behind the future of AI—Upscale is where you can produce meaningful work at the frontier—and operate at a high standard.


About the Role

We are building a world-class SerDes engineering team to enable next-generation connectivity for AI data centers and high-performance computing.

We are seeking a highly accomplished Senior Principal Engineer to lead the design and development of advanced SerDes transmitter circuits. This role will drive key transmitter technologies spanning clock generation and distribution, high-speed DACs, output drivers, and innovative circuit techniques for extending bandwidth and improving power efficiency.

The ideal candidate combines deep expertise in high-speed analog and mixed-signal circuit design with hands-on experience in advanced transmitter architectures, time-interleaved DACs, high-speed clocking, and electromagnetic analysis. You will own critical design blocks from architecture and circuit development through layout collaboration, tape-out, and silicon validation, working closely with cross-functional teams to deliver leading-edge high-speed interconnect technology.

Responsibilities:

  • Transmitter Design Leadership: Lead the architecture, design, and implementation of high-speed SerDes transmitter circuits targeting the next-generation high-speed interconnects, with a focus on performance, power efficiency, and silicon robustness.
  • Clocking Architecture: Drive transmitter clock generation, distribution, and timing optimization, including multiphase clocking, phase alignment, jitter management, and clock-to-data timing.
  • High-Speed DAC Development: Lead the design and optimization of high-speed DACs, including time-interleaved architectures, high-speed switching networks, linearity optimization, and power-efficient implementations.
  • DAC Calibration: Develop and optimize calibration techniques for high-speed time-interleaved DACs, addressing timing skew, gain and offset mismatch, nonlinearities, interleaving spurs, and process-voltage-temperature variations.
  • Output Driver Design: Lead the design of high-speed output drivers using both current-mode and voltage-mode architectures, optimizing output swing, impedance matching, linearity, power consumption, and signal integrity.
  • Bandwidth Extension Techniques: Develop advanced circuit techniques using passive elements and networks—including inductive peaking, impedance shaping, and other bandwidth-extension methods—to achieve the required high-frequency performance.
  • Electromagnetic Analysis: Apply electromagnetic simulation and extraction tools, such as Cadence EMX, Ansys HFSS, or other EM tools, to analyze and optimize passive structures, interconnects, coupling, and high-frequency circuit behavior.
  • Cross-Functional Integration: Collaborate with receiver, clocking, AMS layout, package, signal integrity, and silicon validation teams to optimize end-to-end link performance.
  • Silicon Execution: Drive circuit simulations, design reviews, physical implementation, tape-out readiness, silicon characterization, and performance correlation to ensure successful product delivery.
  • Technical Mentorship: Provide technical guidance to engineers, establish design best practices, and help raise the technical bar across the SerDes transmitter organization.

Qualifications:

  • MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering or a related field, with substantial experience in high-speed analog and mixed-signal IC design.
  • Strong hands-on experience designing high-speed SerDes transmitters or comparable high-performance transmit circuits.
  • Demonstrated expertise in one or more of the following areas: transmitter clocking, high-speed DACs, output drivers, or advanced transmitter architectures.
  • Strong understanding of high-speed circuit design principles, including bandwidth limitations, parasitic effects, jitter, noise, impedance matching, signal integrity, and power optimization.
  • Experience with advanced CMOS process technologies and the challenges of implementing high-speed circuits in scaled technology nodes.
  • Proficiency in circuit simulation, design optimization, and silicon debug and characterization.
  • Experience collaborating with custom layout engineers and using extracted parasitics and electromagnetic simulation results to guide circuit design.
  • Proven ability to lead complex technical projects, make sound engineering trade-offs, and deliver high-quality silicon.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Direct experience developing 100+G-per-lane SerDes transmitters.
  • Deep expertise in time-interleaved DAC architectures and calibration techniques for high-speed transmitters.
  • Experience with both current-mode and voltage-mode output driver architectures, including their trade-offs in bandwidth, linearity, output swing, power, and termination.
  • Strong understanding of passive circuit design for bandwidth extension, including inductors, transformers, transmission lines, resonant networks, and impedance-shaping techniques.
  • Hands-on proficiency with electromagnetic simulation and extraction tools such as Cadence EMX, Ansys HFSS, or other EM tools, including PeakView where applicable.
  • Experience optimizing clock distribution, multiphase clock generation, and sampling or switching-clock quality for high-speed mixed-signal systems.
  • Experience with advanced-node CMOS technologies, high-density integration, and demanding package and channel environments.
  • A track record of successful silicon delivery, technical innovation, patents, or contributions to leading-edge high-speed connectivity products.
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Upscale AI headquarters

Santa Clara, CA

Company size

100–500 employees

Founded

2025

Total raised

$490,000,000

View company profile ↗

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