-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- design007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueDesigning Through the Noise
Our experts discuss the constantly evolving world of RF design, including the many tradeoffs, material considerations, and design tips and techniques that designers and design engineers need to know to succeed in this high-frequency realm.
Learning to Speak ‘Fab’
Our expert contributors clear up many of the miscommunication problems between PCB designers and their fab and assembly stakeholders. As you will see, a little extra planning early in the design cycle can go a long way toward maintaining open lines of communication with the fab and assembly folks.
Training New Designers
Where will we find the next generation of PCB designers and design engineers? Once we locate them, how will we train and educate them? What will PCB designers of the future need to master to deal with tomorrow’s technology?
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - design007 Magazine
The PCB Designer of the Future: Blending Innovation, Technology, and Sustainability
February 3, 2025 | Stephen V. Chavez, Siemens EDAEstimated reading time: 1 minute

The global demand for electronics is skyrocketing, fueled by rapid technological advancements and groundbreaking innovations across many industries, including automotive, telecommunications, healthcare, and consumer electronics. PCB design is the foundation of electronic hardware and lies at the heart of this evolution.
PCB design has always existed in a dynamic and ever-evolving landscape, but in the past few decades, the pace of transformation has been nothing short of revolutionary. It drives everything from smartphones and medical equipment to industrial automation and aerospace technology. PCB design is pivotal in propelling technological progress and innovation forward. This evolution in PCB design has produced multiple specialties, but I want to focus on a specific specialist known as the PCB designer (aka the printed circuit engineer). I strongly believe this profession is the true master of this domain and plays a crucial role in designing a PCB.
I have experienced the dramatic evolution of the profession and role of the PCB designer over the past few decades. I was fortunate to enter the field in the late 1980s, which means that I have never had to experience “hand taping” a PCB design. The role of the PCB designer and the PCB design process have come a long way from manual hand-taping and drafting to sophisticated computer-aided design. Today's designers are part of a high-tech field requiring technical expertise, collaborative abilities, and creative problem-solving. If I were to look into a crystal ball, I would see that the next 10 years promise even more profound changes in the tools, responsibilities, and challenges PCB designers will face.
The Changing Role of PCB Designers
PCB designers of the future will create not just layouts or place components; they will serve as system-level architects. Their work will encompass a broader range of responsibilities, requiring collaboration with hardware, software, and mechanical engineering teams. Key shifts include:
- AI-augmented creativity: AI will handle routine tasks like auto-routing and optimization, freeing designers to focus on system integration, trade-offs, what-if scenarios, and innovation.
- Sustainability advocacy: Designers will prioritize eco-friendly PCBs by selecting recyclable materials, optimizing layouts for energy efficiency, and balancing layout solvability, performance, and manufacturing with environmental concerns.
- Interdisciplinary expertise: Combining knowledge from electrical and mechanical engineering, materials science, manufacturing, and software development will be essential to navigate the complexities of next-generation technologies.
Read the rest of this article in the January 2025 issue of Design007 Magazine.
Suggested Items
Navigating Global Manufacturing in an Era of Uncertainty
05/07/2025 | Philip Stoten, ScoopThe EMS industry faces unprecedented challenges as global trade tensions rise and tariff announcements create market uncertainty. In an overview of IPC Europe’s podcast, MADE IN EUROPE, industry experts from GPV and Zollner examine how these developments impact our businesses and customers, and what strategies will prevail in this new landscape.
Voices of the Industry: Alpha Circuit
05/06/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazinePrashant Patel, founder and president of Alpha Circuit, takes a pragmatic approach to doing business: “Commerce always wins out,” he says. How will potential tariffs and shifts in the economy affect PCB manufacturing? Prashant offers sound advice.
AMI Achieves 52 Consecutive Weeks of First Pass Yield Rates Above 98.72%
05/06/2025 | Alternative Manufacturing, Inc.AMI, a leading provider of high-quality PCB assembly (PCBA) solutions, proudly announces the achievement of 52 consecutive weeks of first pass yields at test, maintaining an exceptional success rate of 98.72% or better. This remarkable accomplishment underscores the company's unwavering commitment to manufacturing excellence, quality assurance, and customer satisfaction.
Taiwan's PCB Industry Chain Is Expected to Grow Steadily by 5.8% Annually in 2025
05/05/2025 | TPCAAccording to an analysis report jointly released by the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA) and the Industrial Technology Research Institute's International Industrial Science Institute, the total output value of Taiwan's printed circuit (PCB) industry chain will reach NT$1.22 trillion in 2024, with an annual growth rate of 8.1%.
ASC Sunstone Circuits to Exhibit at PCB Detroit 2025
05/05/2025 | ASC SunstoneASC Sunstone Circuits will be exhibiting at the inaugural session of PCB Detroit to be held on June 2 and 3 on the campus of Wayne State University.