RFIC Silicon Lead
Tacit · San Francisco
- On site
- Fulltime
- San Francisco
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Subject: Interested in the RFIC Silicon Lead role at Tacit
Hi Jamie — I came across the RFIC Silicon Lead opening and wanted to reach out directly. I've spent the last few years doing exactly this kind of work, and Tacit stood out because…
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About the role
About Tacit
We are an early-stage, deep tech startup based in San Francisco, developing innovative hardware that rethinks human-computer interaction. We are backed by General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, and Greylock Partners, with a founding team from Stanford, BrainGate, Oculus, and Tesla. While we can’t reveal too much just yet, our team is tackling cutting-edge engineering challenges to bring revolutionary products to life.
About the role
We are building CMOS RF systems at ultra low-power envelopes. We are looking for our first silicon hire: the person who will define the RF CMOS architecture, translate Tacit’s sensing and ML constraints into circuit reality, and set the technical foundation for everything that follows.
This role starts hands-on. You will work at the transistor level, stand up the initial design environment, evaluate process options, simulate and design critical blocks, and drive early silicon decisions. But the most important responsibility is architectural judgment: determining what RF front-end, synthesizer, power-management, and duty-cycling approaches can actually close in CMOS at our target power envelopes.
The rare skill we are looking for is not generic RFIC execution. It is the ability to reason across system architecture, low-power CMOS RF, frequency generation, sensing constraints, form factor, and product requirements — and to know when a proposed path will or will not work in silicon.
As the program matures, you will help decide what stays internal and what is executed with external silicon partners. You may directly own blocks, technically direct contractors, or build the internal team. In all cases, the architecture-defining IP and technical judgment must live inside Tacit.
What you'll do
Define the RF CMOS architecture for an ultra-low-power, frequency-agile sensing front end
Translate system-level sensing, ML, and form-factor constraints into circuit-level requirements
Design and/or technically direct critical RF circuit blocks, including VCOs, PLLs, mixers, LNAs, buffers, passives, clocking, biasing, and power-management structures
Architect fast-settling frequency generation and hopping approaches suitable for aggressive duty-cycled operation
Drive power-reduction methodology across the RF system: duty-cycle co-design, supply gating, bias trimming, wake/sleep transients, and system-level power tradeoffs
Evaluate and recommend CMOS process options for a low-power wideband / frequency-agile SoC, including tradeoffs across 28nm, 22FDX, 55nm RF, and related nodes
Stand up and operate the early RFIC design environment, including Cadence Virtuoso, Spectre, ADE, EM simulation, Calibre, and PDK flows
Identify when an architecture will not close in silicon, and propose practical relaxations or alternatives
Own or technically direct implementation through DRC/LVS, tape-out, packaging, bring-up, measurement correlation, and iteration
Evaluate, select, and technically manage external silicon partners where appropriate, while keeping architecture-defining IP and technical judgment inside Tacit
Help build the future silicon team as the architecture, program, and company scale
Requirements
MS or PhD in electrical engineering, or equivalent experience
10+ years in RFIC design, with substantial industry experience delivering silicon
Deep experience in low-power CMOS RF, synthesizers, radar, UWB, frequency-agile radios, or related sensing systems
Strong transistor-level design ability in Cadence Virtuoso, Spectre, and ADE
Expertise in synthesizer and RF front-end circuits, especially VCOs, PLLs, mixers, LNAs, buffers, passives, clocking, and biasing
Strong understanding of CMOS process tradeoffs, device behavior, stack selection, parasitics, layout effects, and RF process-node selection
Experience with EM simulation tools such as EMX, HFSS, Momentum, or equivalent
Track record taking RFIC blocks or systems from architecture through silicon validation
Ability to reason across architecture, circuits, layout, packaging, measurement, power, and product constraints
Ability to translate ambiguous system-level goals into concrete circuit and silicon tradeoffs
Strong communication skills and ability to lead technical decisions in a small, fast-moving team
Strong candidates may have
Background in low-power radar, UWB, frequency synthesizers, or frequency-agile sensing front ends
Experience with fast-settling PLLs, wideband frequency generation, duty-cycled RF systems, or ultra-low-power sensing radios
Experience with 28nm, 22FDX, 55nm RF, or other RF-capable CMOS processes
Experience as a first or early silicon hire at a startup
Experience managing external design houses, foundries, packaging vendors, or semiconductor supply-chain partners
Experience with RF/analog/digital co-design and system-level power optimization
Experience building, hiring, or mentoring RFIC teams
Strategic mindset: engineering decisions framed in terms of business outcomes, product milestones, defensible IP, and time-to-market
Compensation Range
$180,000 - $230,000/year plus meaningful equity package
Benefits
Competitive equity package
Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance
Company size: 30-50 people
Unlimited PTO
Visa sponsorship
4% 401k matching