Hardware Designer

Fidus is a global high-tech design firm headquartered in Ottawa, with additional design centres in Kitchener-Waterloo and San Jose. We specialize in leading-edge electronic product development, with hardware, embedded software, FPGA/ASIC, and signal integrity teams working together to design and deliver next-generation products for clients in emerging technology markets.

Position Overview/Mandate

The Hardware Designer plays a key role in architecting and delivering complex, high-performance electronic systems for Fidus clients. You will work closely with customers and cross-functional teams (FPGA, software, SI/PI) to define system and board-level architectures, design high-speed circuits, and support full product development from concept through bring-up and validation.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys tackling challenging, high-speed designs (DDR, PCIe, SerDes), working across the full hardware lifecycle, and collaborating in multidisciplinary environments. You take pride in delivering robust, production-ready designs and mentoring others while maintaining a high standard of engineering quality and documentation.

Make an Impact with US

At Fidus, you'll work on high-speed, high-complexity electronic systems, often using emerging technologies before they reach the broader market. You'll collaborate across FPGA/DSP, hardware, embedded software, verification, SI/PI, PCB layout, and mechanical/thermal design as part of cross-functional teams delivering real products for our clients.

In practice, that means contributing to projects across Communications, Aerospace & Defence, Life Sciences and Medical Devices, Space and Satellite, Industrial Automation, Automotive, and Semiconductor engagements. You won't be limited to a single product or industry—your work will follow the technology, not just one roadmap.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Develop the system and board level architectural design, but working collaboratively with the software and FPGA programmers to analyze requirements

• Provide schematic design and component selection for high-speed circuits, SerDes to 32Gbps, control circuits, power supply sequencing, inter-board connectors, and memory busses

• Conduct design simulations using LTSpice and prove circuits using prototype bench tests

• Work with the Signal Integrity team to ensure a detailed analysis of critical nets

• Participate in design reviews (Signal Integrity, PCB Layout, FPGA coding, Software) to ensure Fidus quality standards are met

• Perform parts library creation and schematic capture, including embedded layout constraints, using OrCAD Capture CIS

• Develop comprehensive test plans and test procedures

• Lab bring-up and in-depth verification of hardware prototypes

• Actively collaborate with the team to address hardware & software integration issues

• Lead regulatory certification testing

• Generate technical and user documentation

• Provide pre-project technical support to the business and sales teams on project scope, schedule, effort estimates, and deliverables, and post-project technical support to customers

• Act as a mentor and sounding board to junior and intermediate electronic designers.

Who You Are

• Minimum 5 years of direct electronics design experience

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering, or equivalent.

• Ability to lead a design technically and as a mentor

• Strong fundamental knowledge of high-speed circuit and multi-layer PCB design

• In depth understanding of all aspects of the hardware product development cycle including requirements, architecture, schematic capture, PCB layout, signal integrity, verification, and manufacturing

• Background in FPGA designs, including 32Gbps diff pairs, power/thermal design

• Experience with high-speed devices and protocols including DDR4, PCIe Gen4, MIPI, Gigabit Ethernet, USB-C, HDMI, SerDes and JESD204B.

• Experience with development tools such as Cadence CIS/Orcad/Cadence Allegro

• Experience using optical test sets, signal analyzers, and GHz+ oscilloscopes for analysis of eye diagrams, phase noise, and overall signal quality

• Hands-on debugging experience involving scopes, VNAs, signal generators, electronic loads

• Familiarity with ESD, EMI, and RF design considerations

• Ability to use Verilog, RTL, or HLS an asset

• Embraces AI as part of a modern engineering toolkit

Location and travel: Position is based in Canada. Travel may be required domestically and internationally to support customer engagements and project delivery.

This position may require access to export-controlled information. Candidates will be required to complete background checks and security screening under Canada's Controlled Goods Program (CGP) and may also be required to obtain a security clearance under the Contract Security Program (CSP) administered by Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC, formerly PWGSC).

This role is an evergreen position.

Annual base salary ranges from $95,000 to $145,000. The final offer within this range takes into account the variations in knowledge, skills, experience, and market conditions, and with consideration to internal equity.

Our competitive compensation package also includes a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision plans, matching RRSP contributions, annual profit-sharing bonus, along with other supplementary benefits.

We also recognize that candidates show interest throughout different career stages and welcome all applications. When there is a great fit, the level of the role may be shifted as applicable.

About Fidus & Why Work Here

Since 2001, Fidus has completed over 4,000 projects for more than 400 customers across industries including Telecom/Datacom, Aerospace & Defence, Consumer, Semiconductors, Industrial/Automotive Controls, and Medical. As a Premier Adaptive Computing Partner for AMD North America, we combine deep technical expertise with industry-leading tools to solve complex design challenges.

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