Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1531384
44 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2025 Interview by Andy Shaughnessy We're seeing new, young technologists mov- ing into the PCB design and design engineer- ing segment, and it's just in time; many veteran designers are headed to retirement. At the same time, there have been various recent advances in EDA tools. What will the PCB designer's job—and the designer's so- ware tools—look like in the next five years? Bob Potock, vice president of marketing for Zuken USA, weighs in on the PCB designers of tomorrow, and the EDA tools that will take them into an evermore complex future. Andy Shaughnessy: I imagine Zuken has a "profile" of its typical user. How do you see this their job and its requirements evolving over the next few years? Bob Potock: At Zuken, we believe that the PCB design and layout market is evolving. Today's EDA Tools and the Designer of the Future tools are mature, powerful, and easy to use. However, what's changing in the design pro- cess is how the tools are used and by whom. e standard hand-off from the design engineer to the PCB layout designer is becoming a thing of the past. A board with average complexity is more commonly designed, placed, and routed by the same individual: the hardware engineer. e modern hardware engineer will be an elec- trical engineer who can learn how to do PCB layout on the job. Moderately complex board designs now and in the future will see the tra- ditional PCB layout function moving to the hardware engineer. e high-complexity PCB market is dif- ferent. e tools are more powerful, and the designs have more critical requirements. IC packaging may become part of the PCB layout activity at this complexity level. e traditional