Américo Dias
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Américo Dias
Américo Dias

Américo Dias

Analog IC Design Engineer | Executive MBA
Penafiel, Porto, Portugal
linkedin.com/in/americodias
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Core Competencies

Top Skills
  • Analog & mixed-signal IC design: ultra-low-power, sigma-delta ADCs, LDOs, switched-capacitor circuits, current DACs
  • Physical design & layout: full-custom analog, top-level floorplan, post-layout extraction, LVS/DRC, ECOs
  • Process nodes & tooling: TSMC 40 / 55 / 130 / 180 nm, Cadence Virtuoso/Spectre, SystemC-AMS
Languages
  • Portuguese: Native or Bilingual
  • English: Full Professional Proficiency
  • Spanish: Limited Working Proficiency
Certifications

Professional Experience

ParallelCascade
8 years 1 month
Founder, Analog IC and Embedded Systems Consultant
August 2018 - Present
Porto, Portugal
Founded ParallelCascade as an independent engineering consultancy focused on electronics, embedded software, semiconductor design and technical product execution. ParallelCascade provides hands-on engineering and technical leadership support across analog/mixed-signal IC design, embedded systems, hardware/software integration, system debugging and product development.

Selected engagements and work areas:

  • Adesto Technologies: Full-custom IC layout for analog blocks in TSMC 40nm and 55nm technologies, including auxiliary analog blocks and a 100 MHz RC clock generator
  • TKS Agri: Electronics and software development for advanced agricultural machinery, including FeedCarrier and FeedStation systems
  • Semiconductor and microelectronics: Analog IC design, layout, verification, lab correlation, power management, ADC-related work and technical execution support
  • Engineering leadership: Project planning, team coordination, process definition and delivery ownership in high-complexity technical environments
Nanopower Semiconductor
5 years 2 months
Semiconductor company focused on low power for microelectronics, enabling large-scale and environmentally sustainable deployment of IoT devices.
Analog IC Design Engineer
September 2023 - Present (3 years)
Porto, Portugal

Current focus:

  • Hands-on analog and mixed-signal IC design for ultra-low-power semiconductor products
  • Contribute across circuit design, physical implementation, layout, verification, tool evaluation, automation and cross-functional technical decisions
  • Support design-flow improvements, technical debugging and collaboration between analog, digital and product stakeholders

Selected contributions:

  • Led a strategic EDA tool evaluation for analog/mixed-signal IC design, benchmarking Cadence, Synopsys and Siemens flows across schematic capture, layout, simulation, DRC/LVS and migration risk
  • Developed and documented an AI-assisted standard-cell generation workflow using open-source EDA tooling and autonomous coding agents in an iterative DRC/LVS-driven engineering loop
IC Design Manager
July 2021 - September 2023 (2 years 3 months)
Porto, Portugal

Key achievements (IC Design Manager, 2021–2023):

  • Built the IC design team from zero to 7 engineers, reporting directly to the CEO
  • Led 4 silicon tapeouts — from charge-pump variants through to the company's first full-system ASIC — and oversaw bring-up and characterization of 2 earlier academia-era chips during this tenure
  • Coordinated the engineering organization across 2 countries (Portugal and Romania)

Focus (IC Design Manager):

  • Coordinate, support, delegate responsibilities, and establish processes for the IC design team
  • Collaborate with CEO, CTO, business development, and stakeholders on company organization and product specifications
  • Project management: planning, staffing, and follow-up
  • Execute collaborations with universities and research institutions
Knowles Corporation
2 years 8 months
Senior Analog ASIC Designer
November 2018 - June 2021
Roskilde, Zealand, Denmark
Market leader and global provider of advanced micro-acoustic microphones and speakers, audio processing, and precision device solutions, serving consumer electronics, communications, MedTech, defense, electric vehicle, and industrial markets.

Scope:

  • Part of the innovation group developing a brand-new sigma-delta ADC architecture and technology
  • Ported a high-precision current DAC (down to 50pA output) from 180nm to 130nm process
  • Responsible for top-level floorplan and layout of the entire sigma-delta ADC
  • Coordinated all layouters working on ADC sub-blocks
  • Designed high-precision (±1%) differential comparator using switched capacitor circuits for auto-calibration
Christian Lillelund
Project Manager at Knowles Corporation
I worked with Américo in 2019-2020 on a new technology platform for low-power audio asics at Knowles. Américo joined the team as external consultant, and very quickly he became a key member of the development team...
This was mainly due to his high skills as circuit designer, layouter, and the fact that he was a good colleague. As manager of the project, I experienced how Américo delivered high quality work, managed his own work so well that he soon started coordinating larger deliverables from the layout team in India. Americo worked with an effort that was far beyond expectations.
Adesto Technologies
3 months
Full-Custom IC Layout Engineer
August 2018 - October 2018
Lisbon Area, Portugal

Impact:

  • Completed layout of 3 medium-size analog blocks
  • Two auxiliary blocks (amplifiers, level shifters, bias circuitry) in TSMC 40nm
  • 100MHz RC Clock Generator in TSMC 55nm
Silicon Labs
9 months
Senior ASIC Analog Designer
November 2017 - July 2018
Copenhagen Area, Denmark

Outcomes:

  • Designed 120mA LDO using replica-regulator topology achieving very high PSRR for sub-GHz PA in 40nm TSMC
  • Discovered root cause of 40MHz crystal oscillator issue through laboratory work and PEX simulations
  • Developed Delta-Sigma modulator model in SystemC-AMS (100x faster simulation than Cadence Spectre)
Emerson Automation Solutions
1 year 7 months
Senior Analog Design Engineer
April 2016 - October 2017
Stavanger Area, Norway
Technology, software, and engineering company providing innovative solutions for customers in industrial and commercial markets.

What I led:

  • Reported to the Downhole Product Development Manager
  • Electromagnetic modeling as part of feasibility studies into new products
  • Modeling electromagnetic propagation and verifying models with laboratory measurements
  • Developed analog circuits for fault detection along transmission lines (Time-domain Reflectometer)
  • Troubleshooting investigations on existing product lines
David Wightman
Senior Embedded Hardware Engineer at Emerson
Americo is a natural talent in the field of Electrical Engineering. During our time working together, he routinely solved difficult design problems with succinct, cost effective and robust solutions, demonstrating a clear mastery of the field...
All of his work was noticeably organized, such that he could make complicated systems straightforward and expandable. Americo's rapid ability to develop accurate analog and electromagnetic simulations made him an invaluable technical asset — his simulations were always well structured, with the appropriate amount of hands-on verification to ensure their accuracy. His attention to detail and pragmatic approach provided the foundation for faster circuit design, improved features, and reduced field issues.
SiliconGate
3 years 3 months
Analog IC Design Engineer
January 2013 - March 2016
Porto Area, Portugal
Specialized supplier of Power Management IP-Cores for ASIC/SoC and an experienced provider of integration and verification services.

Scope:

  • Full-custom design of analog blocks for power-management IPs (transistor-level implementation, topology selection, hand analysis)
  • Schematic and post-layout simulation, worst-case identification, stability analysis and compensation
  • Physical layout: signal grounding, routing trade-offs, area optimization, post-layout parasitic extraction
  • IC-level verification across performance metrics; technical documentation and project reports
Synopsys Inc
1 year 7 months
Physical IC Design Engineer
June 2011 - December 2012
Porto, Portugal
Leading provider of the most advanced tools for silicon chip design, verification, IP integration, and application security testing.

Scope:

  • All phases of physical design of high-performance PHYs, RTL to GDSII (floorplan, pin placement, power grid, place & route, timing closure)
  • Developed and validated high-performance, low-power clock-network guidelines
  • ECOs for timing, noise and EM/IR violations; LVS/DRC fixes at chip and block level
Universidade do Porto
1 year 1 month
Ph.D. candidate
September 2010 - September 2011
Porto, Portugal

Achievement:

  • Doctoral Programme in Electrical and Computer Engineering, with focus on IC design
  • Completed the first year with distinction
  • Returned to industry after Year 1; doctorate remains a long-term goal
INESC Porto
1 year 4 months
Researcher
April 2009 - July 2010
Porto, Portugal

Project:

  • Development of an Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) prototype for aerospace applications
  • Used microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and mixed-signal microelectronics
Tellus Mater, S.A.
8 months
Firmware Developer
September 2008 - April 2009
Porto Area, Portugal

What I led:

  • Firmware development for telemetry, telemedicine and security systems
Venco Electrónica
1 year 4 months
Country Sales Representative
May 2007 - August 2008
Portugal

What I led:

  • Reported to the Sales Manager in Spain
  • Responsible for sales and support to all Portuguese market
  • Deployed the company's presence in Portugal
David Baró Villacorta
Product Line Manager at Venco Electrónica
I was working with Américo while he was a Sales Engineer and we had always a common goal. It was good to work with him, because he followed up all the customers properly.
Corsisa Electrónica
5 years 8 months
Hardware Technician and Developer
September 2001 - April 2007
Porto, Portugal

What I led:

  • Development of hardware/firmware in optoelectronic, industrial and consumer areas
  • Production technical support and quality control

Education

Technician - Electronics
Colégio de Gaia
1997 - 2000

Selected Publications

Let's Connect

I am always eager to collaborate, innovate, and lead, creating meaningful impact in the tech industry.

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