RF Power Amplifier Engineer

Mark A. Connor

Senior Staff Engineer|pSemi, A Murata Company

mark@markaconnor.com NO3R — Extra Class LinkedIn
01 — About

Engineering at the Edge of Frequency

Accomplished electrical engineering professional with a proven track record of designing high-performance RF power amplifiers, resulting in significant current savings in cellular handset applications. Proficient in cutting-edge technologies such as GaAs HBT and GaN, with a demonstrated ability to rapidly learn and apply emerging industry advancements.

Recognized for leadership in steering cross-functional teams to successfully deliver specification compliant cellular front-end modules. A collaborative professional with a strategic mindset, committed to continuous learning and adapting expertise to meet evolving industry demands.

14+
Years RF Design
5G
NR / mmWave
100
GHz Max Freq
1
U.S. Patent
02 — Experience

Career Trajectory

  1. — Present

    Senior Staff Engineer, RF Power Amplifier Designer

    pSemi, A Murata Company · Remote
    • Develop novel architectures, circuits, devices and methods for high-performance RF Power Amplifiers using co-design and co-simulation of active and passive circuitry
    • Technical leadership of advanced RF power amplifier platforms for cellular and WiFi front-end applications
    • Driving advanced PA design using multiple process technologies and supply modulations including envelope tracking
    • Collaborate with multiple technical teams across pSemi and Murata on PA technologies
    • Execute PA proof-of-concept prototypes, developing successful technologies into high-volume products
  2. —

    RF/mmWave Power Amplifier Designer

    Qorvo, Inc. · Hiawatha, IA · Member of Technical Staff
    • Research and design of advanced RF/mmWave power amplifiers for next generation cellular and 5G NR applications
    • Design of highly efficient and linear power amplifiers operating between 600 MHz and 100 GHz
    • Detailed transistor-level RFIC design and development
    • Support of Technology Platforms Marketing and Engineering Teams with prototypes, data summaries, and application circuit recommendations
  3. —

    Senior RF Design Engineer

    Qorvo, Inc. · Hiawatha, IA
    • Module design lead for n77, n78 and n79 5G NR L-PAMiDs for Samsung Galaxy series
    • Lead designer of QM78041 n41 5G NR PAMiD for Samsung Galaxy series — significant component reuse and cost reduction within 1 design spin
    • GaAs HBT PA and SOI LNA lineup integration/optimization of LTCC filters, band switches, and coupler
    • SOI designer for integrated dual-directional coupler used across multiple bands including b21, n41, n77, and n79
  4. —

    Senior RF Design Engineer

    Skyworks Solutions, Inc. · Cedar Rapids, IA
    • Module design lead for SkyLiTE family of open market multi-mode multi-band 3G/4G LTE power amplifier modules
    • GaAs HBT PA design lead for low-band and mid-band single-ended and differential architectures
    • Spearheaded introduction of envelope tracking support for open market power amplifier modules
    • Guided ATE and DV characterization teams to ship spec-compliant parts for Samsung, MediaTek, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi
    • Demonstrated mentorship among intern/co-op students and new hires with limited PA design background
  5. —

    Graduate Research Assistant

    University of Dayton · Dayton, OH
    • Frequency agile, high power, high efficiency GaN microwave power amplifier design and MMIC integration
    • Developed a tunable integrated power scaling architecture for switch-mode microwave power amplifiers
    • Implemented a reconfigurable pulse-width modulation microwave power amplifier design
    • RF/Microwave semiconductor device fabrication
  6. —

    RF Design Engineer — Co-op / Intern

    Motorola Solutions, Inc. · Schaumburg, IL
    • Designed microstrip quadrature overlay hybrid couplers using ADS Momentum and CST Microwave Studio
    • UHF high power amplifier design, elliptic harmonic filter design, and Wilkinson power combiner/divider design
    • Lab measurements: gain, S-parameters, IIP2, IIP3, and noise figure of LNAs, mixers, and passive filters
03 — Education

Academic Foundation

Master of Science, Electrical Engineering

University of Dayton — Dayton, OH
GPA: 4.0 / 4.0

Thesis: Power Scalability of Gallium Nitride (GaN) Microwave Power Amplifiers

Graduation:

Bachelor of Electrical Engineering

University of Dayton — Dayton, OH
GPA: 3.84 / 4.0

Magna Cum Laude

Graduation:

04 — Technical Skills

Capabilities & Tools

RF Design
RF Power Amplifiers RFIC Design MMIC Module Integration Envelope Tracking 5G NR LTE mmWave
Process Technologies
GaAs HBT GaN SOI LTCC BAW
EDA Software
Keysight ADS Keysight FEM ANSYS HFSS Cadence Virtuoso Cadence APD AWR Microwave Office CST Microwave Studio MATLAB
Programming
C C++ Zig x86/x64 Assembly Linux
Standards
3GPP 5G NR LTE WCDMA CDMA TD-SCDMA
Lab Equipment
Network Analyzer Spectrum Analyzer Signal Generator Load Pull Tuner Oscilloscope Power Meter
05 — Research & IP

Publication & Patent

Master's Thesis

Design of Power-Scalable Gallium Nitride Class E Power Amplifiers

Connor, M. A. (2014). University of Dayton. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center.
View Publication
U.S. Patent

Power Management Circuit Supporting Phase Correction in an Analog Signal

Folkmann et al. (2025). U.S. Patent No. 12,381,514. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
View Patent
06 — Honors & Awards

Recognition

  • Armstrong Award of Excellence

    Outstanding Electrical Engineering Achievement — University of Dayton, 2013

  • Magna Cum Laude

    University of Dayton — May 2013

  • Dean's List

    University of Dayton — May 2009 to May 2013

  • Eta Kappa Nu & Tau Beta Pi

    Engineering Honor Societies