JobsMotorola Solutions

Senior Electrical Engineer

Motorola Solutions · Schaumburg, IL

Posted Aug 19, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 20, 2026

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Likely interview questions for this role

Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.

Behavioral

Tell me about a time you brought up a new embedded board from bare metal. What went wrong first, and how did you find it?

real bring-up experience and debugging instinct, since this role spans hardware and initial software integration

Tell me about a project where you worked on a small team of one to six people and had to wear more than one hat. How did you decide what to take on yourself versus hand off?

fit for a lean, multi-disciplinary team structure with minimal hierarchy

Describe a time you had to explain a technical status or setback directly to a customer. How did you frame it?

comfort and skill communicating with customers directly, which this role requires without a buffer layer

Technical

Walk me through a low power digital or analog circuit you designed where battery life was a hard constraint. What choices did you make to cut current drain, and what did you have to give up to get there?

whether the candidate has real hands-on experience trading off power against performance, not just textbook knowledge

Tell me about a schematic you built that combined a microprocessor, an FPGA, RF, and analog sections. How did you manage the interfaces between those domains?

depth of experience integrating mixed-signal, multi-domain designs, which is the core of this job

What layout and simulation tools have you actually used day to day, and where have Cadence, Sigrity, ADS, or PSPICE fallen short for you?

honest fluency with the specific toolchain versus résumé keyword matching

Describe a board you designed that used USB, MIPI, SPI, and I2C together. What issues came up getting those interfaces to coexist cleanly?

whether they've actually wired and debugged these specific interfaces rather than just listing them

Walk me through how you'd write a test procedure or interface control document for a new peripheral you just brought online.

documentation discipline and whether they think about handoff and repeatability, not just getting it working once

What lab equipment do you reach for first when a board is misbehaving, and can you walk me through a real debugging session using a scope or JTAG debugger?

hands-on lab fluency versus theoretical knowledge of the tools listed

Have you written test or bring-up scripts in Python or LabVIEW? Tell me about one that saved you real time.

practical lab automation skill, which the posting calls out specifically

Situational

Say you're routing a board with a high speed interface next to a noisy power section, and you're running out of layer stack-up. How do you approach the layout tradeoffs?

practical PCB layout judgment around impedance matching and power routing, and whether they can reason through constraints out loud

You're two weeks from a customer demo and initial HW/SW integration turns up a signal integrity issue that only shows up under load. What do you do?

how they prioritize under deadline pressure and whether they can isolate a hard-to-reproduce problem

Tell me about a time a project's scope or requirements changed significantly partway through. How did you adjust your design?

flexibility across varied, shifting projects, which the posting explicitly says is part of the job

This role requires being onsite five days a week and eventually obtaining a security clearance as a U.S. citizen. What questions do you have about that, and is there anything about that setup that gives you pause?

whether the candidate has fully absorbed the onsite and clearance requirements and is realistic about them

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The full job description

As published by Motorola Solutions.

Company Overview At Motorola Solutions, we believe that everything starts with our people. We’re a global close-knit community, united by the relentless pursuit to help keep people safer everywhere. We build and connect technologies to help protect people, property and places. Our solutions foster the collaboration that’s critical for safer communities, safer schools, safer hospitals, safer businesses, and ultimately, safer nations. Connect with a career that matters, and help us build a safer future. Department Overview Our Applied Technology organization puts some of Motorola Solutions' brightest minds on unique, highly challenging projects. Based on decades of experience with our customers, we apply leading-edge technologies to support security and safety throughout the world. We engineer our products from start to finish and manufacture them in-house. We're known for low volume and high capability with focused specialization in areas including software-defined radios, advanced antenna solutions, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cybersecurity, signals intelligence and more. We can't tell you much more about what we do, but we can tell you it's amazing. Job Description Applied Technology is seeking a highly talented and technically strong person to fulfill an Electrical Hardware Engineering role.  In this technical position, the role will have unique and varied responsibilities. Candidates for this position are engineers with diverse knowledge and a wide variety of interests.  As a key resource across multiple products, the successful candidate will handle these type of tasks: • 5+ years experience designing low power digital and analog circuits • Experience with microprocessors, memory, power supplies, voltage regulators, batteries, charging, peripherals, sensors, and various hw interfaces (USB, MIPI, SPI, I2C), peripherals • Design and optimize circuits for minimal current drain consumption to maximize battery life • Generate schematics that include microprocessors, FPGA, RF, analog, power circuits, interface logic, sensors, peripherals, etc. • Use layout tools (Cadence a plus) for part placement and for optimal PCB routing of high speed interface, impedance matching, power routing, etc. • Write test procedures, interface control documents and other documentation • Support full product development life-cycle: architecture, design, bring-up, integration of initial HW/SW, factory support, test & validation, and customer support • Work collaboratively with all functional teams (hardware, RF, software, FPGA, mechanical) • Be a flexible, results-oriented problem-solver who requires minimal supervision. Projects can vary greatly from one to the next, so you must thrive on variety and enjoy taking on new challenges. • Be a member of a small (1-6 person) multi-disciplinary team, work directly with customers to develop product requirements and communicate technical status in meetings • Candidate must be able to work onsite 5 days a week at the Schaumburg location  Specific Skills/Knowledge: • Electrical Hardware design of digital and analog circuits • Knowledgeable in schematic capture & layout (Cadence a plus) and simulation tools (MATLAB, ADS, PSPICE, Sigrity, etc.) and lab automation (Python, LabView). • Working knowledge of Embedded SW (C/C++) and ability to bring-up new embedded systems. • Product & feature architecture development, requirements creation, and design and development experience • Knowledge of lab equipment such as signal analyzers, signal generators, oscilloscopes, JTAG debuggers, soldering stations, etc. • Self starter who can work without supervision and as a member of a team • As you will be working in a small project team and regularly interacting with customers, excellent communication and teamwork skills are essential. #AppliedTech #LI-JM2 #LI-ONSITE Target Base Salary Range: $86,500  - $173,000  USD Consistent with Motorola Solutions values and applicable law, we provide the following information to promote pay transparency and equity. Pay within this range varies and depends on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The actual offer will be based on the individual candidate. Basic Requirements • Bachelor's Degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering, Master's Degree preferred • Must be a U.S. citizen with the ability to obtain necessary security clearance as required by government contracts.  Some contracts may have higher-level clearance requirements. Travel Requirements None Relocation Provided None Position Type Experienced Referral Payment Plan Yes Our U.S. Benefits include: • Incentive Bonus Plans • Medical, Dental, Vision benefits • 401K with Company Match • 10 Paid Holidays • Generous Paid Time Off Packages • Employee Stock Purchase Plan • Paid Parental & Family Leave • and more! EEO Statement Motorola Solutions is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other legally-protected characteristic.  We are proud of our people-first and community-focused culture, empowering every Motorolan to be their most authentic self and to do their best work to deliver on the promise of a safer world. If you’d like to join our team but feel that you don’t quite meet all of the preferred skills, we’d still love to hear why you think you’d be a great addition to our team. We’re committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruiting experience for candidates with disabilities, or other physical or mental health conditions. To request an accommodation, please complete this  Reasonable Accommodations Form  so we can assist you.

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