Senior Electronics PCB & ECAD Design Engineer - RF & Mixed Signal (m/f/d)

Role
Hive Robotics is building Europe’s first full-stack orchestration platform for unmanned systems: connecting, controlling, and commanding multi-vendor drone and robot swarms. Our RF communication systems are Made in Germany, deployed on active frontlines, and targeting a highly valued tactical communication market with zero sovereign alternatives today.
As our Senior Electronics Hardware Engineer, you own our electronic designs end to end: from requirements through schematic capture, PCB layout, and manufacturing release to bring-up and debugging. You take a hardware requirement and independently turn it into a robust, manufacturable PCB assembly, spot problems early, and keep projects moving without waiting for direction. This is a hands-on individual contributor role. Most importantly, you enjoy designing hardware yourself and seeing it ship. You report into our CTO organization.
Bring-up, rework, and close work with mechanical, firmware, and production happen hands-on in our Munich office, so we expect you on site most days of the week.

Responsibilities

Schematic & PCB Design
Own electronic hardware designs from requirements to manufacturing release, including schematics and design reviews
Select components based on performance, availability, lifecycle, cost, and manufacturability
Place and route multilayer boards, and define stack-ups, design rules, controlled-impedance requirements, and layout constraints
Review designs for manufacturability, reliability, EMC, signal and power integrity, and thermal behavior where relevant
Design with certification in mind: support EMC and radio (CE/RED) pre-compliance and certification testing with external labs, and feed the findings back into the design
ECAD Libraries & Engineering Data
Create and maintain schematic symbols, footprints, padstacks, and ECAD libraries
Define and maintain electrical, physical, and manufacturing design rule sets
Keep engineering data clean: design documentation, revision history, and versioning that let anyone pick up a design later and improve it
Shape the transition from Cadence OrCAD/Allegro to Altium Designer for new developments, while keeping existing designs maintainable
Improve engineering workflows and automate repetitive tasks where it pays off
Manufacturing & Supply
Generate, review, and release manufacturing outputs and technical documentation
Work directly with PCB fabrication and PCBA assembly partners on stack-ups, fabrication constraints, assembly guidelines, and production requirements
Review BOMs and qualify alternative components based on availability, lifecycle, and technical requirements, together with Operations
Make sure designs scale from prototype runs to serial production volumes
Bring-up, Test & Integration
Bring up, debug, and validate boards, including burn-in testing, soldering, and rework
Work closely with mechanical and embedded firmware engineers through design, integration, and bring-up
Reproduce and qualify hardware issues from production and the field so they get fixed at the root cause
Handle sensitive and export-controlled design data in line with our dual-use export control requirements

Requirements

You do not need to tick every box or master every topic from day one. If the core is there and you have the drive to grow into the rest, we want to hear from you.
Must Have
5+ years of professional experience in electronic hardware and PCB development
Degree in electrical engineering, electronics, or a comparable technical foundation
A track record of independently taking PCBs from schematic to manufacturing release: boards you designed that went into production
Strong schematic design and component selection skills, working confidently from datasheets
Strong PCB layout skills on multilayer and high-density boards, including blind and buried vias, built on a solid understanding of grounding, power distribution, differential interfaces, controlled impedance, and high-speed design
Practical understanding of PCB fabrication and PCBA assembly, including direct work with manufacturers on stack-ups, fabrication rules, assembly requirements, and production issues
Hands-on lab skills: board bring-up, debugging, lab equipment, soldering, and rework
Strong experience in at least one professional ECAD environment, such as Altium Designer, Cadence OrCAD/Allegro, Siemens Xpedition, or comparable. Deep expertise in both Altium and Cadence is not required
Ownership mindset: you drive designs forward without continuous supervision, and an undocumented design change is a problem for you, not a shortcut
Fluent English (German is a plus)
Willingness to undergo security vetting where projects require it
Based in Munich or willing to relocate
Nice to Have
Altium Designer and BOM Portal, our platform for new developments, and Cadence OrCAD/Allegro, which our existing products are built on
Experience with BOM management or component lifecycle tools
RF and wireless electronics or communication systems, the core of what we build
Ethernet and high-speed digital interfaces, power electronics, or embedded systems
EMC/EMI-conscious design and experience taking products through EMC and radio certification (CE/RED)
Electronics for robotics, UAVs, or other ruggedized systems, ideally in defense, aerospace, or another regulated environment
Connector selection, wiring harness, and pinout definition
Scripting or engineering automation