Electrical Engineering and Hardware Development

Job Locations | Interviewing in Israel | Online Resources | Headhunters | Salary Surveys | Landing Your First Job | Interview with an Electrical Engineer

A special thank you to Ron Ozery for his professional contributions to this article. You can reach Ron at group.msp@gmail.com or see www.jobhunt.co.il.

Electrical and hardware engineers in Israel encounter a fast growing industry and an ever-increasing number of employment opportunities, with a broad range of companies targeting professionals who have hardware development backgrounds and Real Time experience. Work experience that is currently in particular demand includes board design, chip design and FPGA. For analog engineers, there is a more narrow range of opportunities but the jobs that exist tend to be excellent positions with relatively high salaries.

If you are in the planning stages of Aliyah, keep in mind that one to two years of Real Time and hardware development experience will help you find a job in this field once you arrive in Israel. In contrast, experience in Verification and Quality Assurance is not likely to help you land a hardware development position. In addition, be aware that Israeli companies require job candidates to have academic degrees. A degree from a recognized academic institution is more valuable than a degree from a technical college.

Job Locations

Electrical and hardware engineering positions are available throughout Israel. New high-tech facilities exist in all of Israel's central areas including North Tel-Aviv's Ramat HaChayal, Jerusalem's Har Hotzvim and Gan Hatechnologia in Malcha, Ra'annana's industrial area, Herzlia Pituach, Haifa's technology park alongside the sea and Carmiel up north. However, most job opportunities are in the greater Tel Aviv area.

Interviewing in Israel

For a database of questions recently asked by Israeli companies at job interviews, see http://www.jobhunt.co.il/?pageid=qdatabase. The questions are organized by company name. This is a Hebrew-language listing.

For general information about interviewing in Israel, see Tips for Successful Interviewing in Israel.

Online Resources
There are numerous Web sites devoted to computer and hi-tech employment in Israel.

• www.jobhunt.co.il is a career development agency that assists engineers in their search for high level opportunities in Israel. Jobhunt charges a fee for their services.
• www.cji.co.il offers a free listing of current job openings and a salary survey for the hi-tech market.
• http://www.hightech-mag.com/ is an online hi-tech magazine that lists engineering positions (click "Forums and Jobs" to view job listings).

For additional resources, see Online Resources.

Headhunters and Employment Agencies

For a listing of headhunters and employment agencies, see Headhunters.

Salary Surveys

• www.checkcompare.com: Salary information provided by employees, who share their professional background, current position and salary information, anonymously. This is an interesting resource because it comes directly from other employees; the information is not processed by a recruitment agency, who might have an agenda. Hebrew language site.
• http://www.themarker.com/ibo/career/table.jhtml: Salary survey developed by The Marker, the Haaretz site for business and technology.
• http://www.jobinfo.co.il/Content/Career/Salary/SalaryTableDB.asp: Salary survey provided by an employment agency called JobInfo.

Landing Your First Job

In this fast moving industry, it is important to minimize your time out of work. The more quickly you can land a job after making Aliyah, the better your chances of finding quality employment. You can improve your chance of finding work quickly by networking extensively prior to making Aliyah.

Interview with Electrical Engineer Baruch Bergenfeld

A special thank you to Baruch Bergenfeld, General Manager of Intrinsix Israel Ltd. (an electronic design services company), for participating in this interview. Baruch is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with a Bachelor of Science in Elecrical Engineering. He has over 21 years of experience in electronics design, mostly in the field of wireline computer networking.  Baruch made Aliyah with his family in February 2005 and currently resides in Nof Ayalon. You can contact Baruch with questions about employment in Israel at bergenf@intrinsix.com or see his web site at www.intrinsix.com.

What kind of engineer are you?
ASIC Design and Verification Engineer.

Can you describe what that type of engineer does for someone who is unfamiliar with the field?
I design custom chips in high level description languages such as Verilog. In addition, I (functionally) verify chip designs in simulation using high level verification languages such as Specman E.

What education is needed for your job, both in Israel and in the U.S.?
You need a BSEE (Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering) both in the U.S. and Israel.

For your profession, what work settings are available in Israel?
Large semiconductor companies such as Intel and IBM. Also Israeli startups.

What licensure is required?
None.

Do I need to know Hebrew?
No.

What experience do I need?
Experience in ASIC design and Verification.

What is the market like?
There are many unfilled positions, expecially in verification.

Are there any technical differences between Israel and the U.S.?
If you want to advance in Management, Hebrew is essential.

What is the average salary range?
15,000 to 35,000 NIS per month (gross) on average, depending upon experience. Usually, employers provide a car as part of the package.

What are the best routes for continuing education? 
Training courses for new tools are offered by Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tool companies. In addition, Master's programs are offered at Ben Gurion University, Tel Aviv University and the Technion.          

Do I need to join any professional organizations?
No, nothing is required, but it is good to be a member of IEEE.

Is there anything else you would like to share with new Olim?
American ingenuity and innovation is respected in Israel. There should be no barrier to succeeding here.
The majority of the jobs are in the center of the country. Outside of the Tel Aviv area, you will find jobs in Haifa, Jerusalem and Beer Sheva -- in that order.

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