Expertise Needed for Mixed-Signal Control Board PCB Design
Budget: £750 – £1,500 GBP
I'm looking for an experienced hardware engineer and PCB designer to deliver schematic and layout for a mixed-signal control board on a tight timeline. This project is best suited for a senior engineer familiar with high-speed signals (~80 MHz SPI) and signal integrity preservation, who can start immediately.
The board at a glance:
- STM32H753ZI MCU (Cortex-M7, 480 MHz) + flash + USB serial
- 14 high-speed analog inputs (~300 kHz range) from precision sensors (mix of bipolar and single-ended in the low-volt range)
- 14 analog outputs (mix of ±10 V differential and ±10 V single-ended for driving external actuators)
- External high-speed SPI ADC and DAC (you will pick these to read from analog sensors and perform analog output)
- Single 12 V or 24 V DC input, on-board regulation including ±15 V analog rails
Multi-layer PCB, mixed-signal best practice (analog/digital separation, planes, controlled impedance where needed)
- Anti-aliasing front-end on every input channel
Deliverables:
KiCad schematic (reviewed and signed off before layout begins)
Multi-layer KiCad PCB layout
BOM with manufacturer part numbers
Fabrication output files (Gerbers, drill, pick-and-place)
Layout review with me before fab release
Remote support during board bring-up
Non-negotiable requirements:
KiCad
Demonstrable portfolio with STM32H7 family (preferably STM32H753ZI specifically)
Demonstrable mixed-signal design experience
Can start immediately
In your application, please answer briefly:
- On a mixed-signal board, when would you choose a switching regulator over an LDO for an analog rail, and when would you do the opposite?
- How do you decide between 4-layer and 6-layer for a mixed-signal board?
- What's your default approach to grounding on a board with both digital MCU and precision analog?
-When routing 80 MHz SPI traces on a mixed-signal board, how do you handle trace matching and prevent crosstalk into adjacent analog channels?
The board at a glance:
- STM32H753ZI MCU (Cortex-M7, 480 MHz) + flash + USB serial
- 14 high-speed analog inputs (~300 kHz range) from precision sensors (mix of bipolar and single-ended in the low-volt range)
- 14 analog outputs (mix of ±10 V differential and ±10 V single-ended for driving external actuators)
- External high-speed SPI ADC and DAC (you will pick these to read from analog sensors and perform analog output)
- Single 12 V or 24 V DC input, on-board regulation including ±15 V analog rails
Multi-layer PCB, mixed-signal best practice (analog/digital separation, planes, controlled impedance where needed)
- Anti-aliasing front-end on every input channel
Deliverables:
KiCad schematic (reviewed and signed off before layout begins)
Multi-layer KiCad PCB layout
BOM with manufacturer part numbers
Fabrication output files (Gerbers, drill, pick-and-place)
Layout review with me before fab release
Remote support during board bring-up
Non-negotiable requirements:
KiCad
Demonstrable portfolio with STM32H7 family (preferably STM32H753ZI specifically)
Demonstrable mixed-signal design experience
Can start immediately
In your application, please answer briefly:
- On a mixed-signal board, when would you choose a switching regulator over an LDO for an analog rail, and when would you do the opposite?
- How do you decide between 4-layer and 6-layer for a mixed-signal board?
- What's your default approach to grounding on a board with both digital MCU and precision analog?
-When routing 80 MHz SPI traces on a mixed-signal board, how do you handle trace matching and prevent crosstalk into adjacent analog channels?