Lead Electrical Engineer

Full-time Company Description INFICON is a leading provider of innovative instrumentation, critical sensor technologies, and Smart Manufacturing/Industry 4.0 software solutions that enhance productivity and quality of tools, processes, and complete factories. These analysis, measurement and control products are essential for gas leak detection in air conditioning/refrigeration and automotive manufacturing. They are vital to equipment manufacturers and end-users in the complex fabrication of semiconductors and thin film coatings for optics, flat panel displays, solar cells and industrial vacuum coating applications. Other users of our vacuum-based processes include the life sciences, research, aerospace, packaging, heat treatment, laser cutting and many other industrial processes. We also leverage our expertise in vacuum technology to provide unique, toxic chemical analysis products for emergency response, security, and environmental health and safety. Job Description We are seeking a versatile Lead Electrical Engineer who thrives at the intersection of hardware, firmware, and AI. This role is designed for a self-starter with an entrepreneurial mindset who can balance the high-stakes innovation of New Product Development (NPD) with the critical rigor of sustaining engineering. You will be instrumental in architecting embedded systems that leverage the latest technologies to bring real-time intelligence to our hardware.You will join INFICON's Electrical Engineering team at our Syracuse, NY location, which designs the precision electronics at the heart of our sensor and instrumentation products. The team works across the full spectrum of electronics: high-precision analog circuits, digital systems, embedded systems, RF electronics, power supplies, PCB layout, component selection, and prototype testing, from breadboard-level MVPs delivered directly into customer hands to series production designs. We measure currents in the nanoampere range and capacitances in the femtofarad range, and we ship these circuits into products used in the fabrication of the most advanced semiconductors, medical devices, automotive, energy and security applications, space exploration, and more.This is a technical leadership role, not a people management role. You will set the technical direction for your subsystems, and you will help the team evaluate how AI-enabled tools can improve our electronics workflows.Key Responsibilities * Lead end-to-end design from initial concept and schematic capture through high-density PCB layout to production launch. * Provide hands-on technical leadership in high-precision analog design, digital electronics, power management, embedded systems based on MCUs, DSPs, or FPGAs, and EMI/EMC compliance. * Collaborate with hardware and software teams to integrate DSP solutions into larger system architectures, ensuring seamless interoperability and debugging complex system-level issues. * Balance NPD (prototyping, validation, and innovation) with sustaining engineering (troubleshooting field issues, managing component obsolescence, and driving cost-reduction initiatives). * Champion a lean, hypothesis-driven approach: build breadboard MVPs, get them into customers' hands, validate assumptions, and iterate. * Review designs, test plans, and documentation, and provide technical guidance to other electrical engineers. * Work within a cross-functional Agile team, participating in sprints and communicating effectively across hardware, software, mechanical, and product functions. * Stay current with emerging technologies, including AI-enabled tools, new component technologies, and design methodologies, and help the team evaluate how they could change how we work. Qualifications Education * Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related fieldRequired Skills & Experience * 510 years of experience in electrical and embedded sy