Wearable Hardware R&D Engineer - New-Grad PhD

About Ixana

Ixana is a Purdue University spinoff pioneering brain-inspired wearable computing. We've developed Wi-R, a patented communication tech that's 100x more energy-efficient than Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Join our 60-person team building the next era of real-time, AI-powered human-computer interaction.

We provide relocation packages and visa transfer support (if required) for candidates based in the San Francisco Bay Area and other major U.S. hubs.

The Wi-R Revolution

Wi-R is our patented non-radiative near-field communication technology that creates secure "wire-like wireless" experiences through small E-field bubbles around your body. This breakthrough enables unprecedented energy efficiency at sub-0.1 nanojoules per bit, making long-term wearable and implantable devices finally practical.

See Wi-R in Action: High-speed data, transferred through skin contact - Demonstration of Wi-R communication

What you’ll do

• Invent next‑gen wearables & implantables EEG glasses, EMG patches, smart implants around Wi‑R SoCs
• Own the path from concept → schematic → 4‑layer medical PCB → firmware bring‑up → benchtop & in‑vivo tests
• Design for FDA Class II/III: biocompatibility, hermetic packaging, ISO 13485 documentation
• Collaborate daily with IC, RF, mech and clinical teams; publish & patent your work

What we’re looking for

Required:

• PhD completed 2023 - 2026 in EE, ECE, BME, ME or similar
• Proven wearable or implantable hardware project labs, dissertation or startup
• Skills in PCB Altium/KiCad , sensors, low‑power analog / mixed‑signal, embedded C/C++ or Python
• Able to relocate to West Lafayette and work on‑site 5 days / week

Preferred:

• 4‑layer medical PCB layouts, biocompatible materials, FDA / ISO 13485 experience
• Publications or patents in flexible electronics, biosensors or neural interfaces

Compensation & benefits

• Base salary $95 000 - $125 000 USD ‑ equivalent to ≈ $185 k - $240 k Bay‑Area purchasing power
• 8 - 30 % cash bonus + meaningful early‑stage equity
• Relocation bonus, partner job‑search help
• Full visa sponsorship STEM‑OPT transfer / H‑1B / TN / future green card
• Medical, dental, vision, 401 k , generous PTO, inventor cash awards

Why Join Us

• Ship world‑first products that can’t be built with today’s wireless
• Startup upside without seed‑stage risk - silicon proven, funded runway, 60 colleagues across IC → cloud
• Daily access to Purdue’s ecosystem
• Publish, patent, present - we celebrate open science and named inventorship