Creative designer Jobs in Waterloo, ON

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 in areas such as space and satellite systems, next-generation communications and networking, high-performance compute and storage platforms, advanced video, imaging, VR/AR applications, and industrial, medical, and automotive systems. 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

This role is being posted to fill an existing vacancy

Travel

Travel may be required domestically and internationally to support customer engagements and project delivery.

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 GRSP 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.

Fidus designs high‑speed, high‑complexity electronic systems using emerging technologies, often well before they reach the broader market. Our teams work across FPGA/DSP, hardware, embedded software, verification, SI/PI, PCB layout, and mechanical/thermal design to deliver real products for our customers.

Our work spans space and satellite systems, next‑generation communications and networking, high‑performance compute and storage platforms, advanced video and imaging, and industrial, medical, and automotive systems. We are not tied to a single product or industry—our work follows the technology, not just one roadmap.

At Fidus, collaboration is at the core of how we work. We value openness, trust, and shared ownership, and we create an environment where people are encouraged to contribute ideas, learn from one another, and have a meaningful impact through the work they do.

If all of this excites you, has your attention, and you can't wait to join our amazing team and work environment, then we want to hear from you!

Curious what it's actually like to work here? Take a look at our Working at Fidus page.

Fidus has a commitment to ensure a fair and transparent recruitment process. Automated tools (including AI) support our initial screening of applicants against our job posting to identify candidates whose qualifications, experience, and skills align most closely with the position requirements. All further candidate assessments and final selection are conducted by our human recruitment team. AI does not make any final hiring decisions.

Thank you for your interest in Fidus. We welcome and encourage diverse candidates to apply. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. Fidus is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

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