Hardware Engineer to Characterization Engineer

Hello everyone,

I'm interviewing for a power IC characterization engineering role and am wondering if it's a good career move. I'm currently an analog hardware engineer. I work on power electronics design(buck converters, LDOs, etc). I want to focus my career on power electronics design. The problem with my current employer is that it's the same thing over and over (DC-DC converters). I don't see any opportunity to get into other areas of power electronics. I like that this potential new job will expose me to other areas of power electronics (gate drivers, IGBTs, SIC, Motor control, BMS). But I fear that because it's not exactly a design role that it will be difficult to move back into design work. I'll basically be validating other people's designs. Any thoughts or general advice? Have any of you hopped around through different roles and successfully gone back to design work?

Yes I started as a MOS production engineer, then went to test engineering writing tester
programs for new ICs, then to Central apps designing application specific for
customer consideration, also FCC design and qualifying a TV game for emissions,
then to FAE work in field, then sales (to generate retirement savings), then back
to FAE work (greatest love) and then retirement.

Throughout all this I was not qualified for any of these jobs initially, and overcame
because I read 24/7 (not really, but a lot) and build in my lab things of interest.

As a production EE I was involved in characterization work. Its a fairly straight forward
task. I would say job interviews are not about being an expert at their specific requirements,
rather a demonstration of interest, and self starting for problem solving. Most of
the time I took control of the interview and asked tons of questions because both
I am curious and a plan to show I had thought extensively about the job, which I had.

Perception is 95% of the interview.


Regards, Dana.

First, if you are asked to review other people's work, you'll be in a good situation
a) able to stay current in design theory & practice, and,
b) appreciated by your management that they put you in an oversight role

Now you have to decide if this is a temporary duty and you want to get back to design (at your current or another employer), or, if you want to eventually move forward and upward to some type of role as a technical sales engineer or technical marketing role.