For many electrical and computer engineers, the most comfortable place to be is behind the scenes—deeply immersed in complex circuit schematics, running simulations, and solving intricate hardware puzzles far away from the spotlight of public product launches. Stepping in front of consumers, media members, and industry executives to explain how microchips work is rarely part of the traditional job description.
Yet, Preethi Ashwath has successfully embraced both worlds. As an analog integrated circuit designer within the consumer electronics division at Analog Devices in Wilmington, Massachusetts, Ashwath has learned to take center stage, eloquently discussing the advanced "hearable" and wearable technologies she helps create.
Her journey from a quiet semiconductor lab to high-profile industry events highlights an evolving role for modern engineers—one where technical mastery must be paired with the ability to communicate innovation clearly to the outside world. Operating in a highly specialized discipline where women make up approximately 11 percent of the workforce according to data from career platform Zippia, Ashwath stands out not only for her technical contributions to analog design, but also for her expanding footprint as a prominent industry ambassador.
Stepping Out of the Lab and Into the Spotlight
Ashwath’s transition from behind-the-scenes designer to public-facing technologist began in earnest last year, when she stepped onto the exhibition floor at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. There, she met directly with attendees, demonstrating Analog Devices’ innovative new earbuds designed to track a user’s heart and lung health through subtle physiological vibrations captured directly within the ear canal.
Her ability to translate dense, highly technical concepts into accessible, simple terms quickly caught the attention of company leadership. Following her successful debut at CES, Analog Devices selected her to represent the firm at a variety of other major industry gatherings. Looking back on the experience, Ashwath notes that she has come to view public speaking not as a distraction from her core engineering responsibilities, but as an integral way to contribute to her field.
In addition to product demonstrations, she frequently delivers technical talks focusing on electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection and other specialized semiconductor topics. She also regularly participates in panel discussions, noting that these engagements allow her to connect with and educate engineers well beyond her immediate team.
Beyond her corporate responsibilities, Ashwath is an active volunteer with the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society. Whether through designing cutting-edge semiconductor products, publishing technical articles, reviewing conference papers, or speaking directly at industry events, she strives to foster the growth of the broader engineering community and advance the state of the art in hardware design.
Discovering Circuit Design at Intel
Ashwath’s path to becoming an analog integrated circuit designer began thousands of miles away from Massachusetts. Growing up in Bengaluru, India, she first encountered the world of electronics engineering through her high school physics tutor. That initial exposure inspired her to select electronics as a core course during her final years of secondary education. At the time, her older sister was already pursuing an engineering degree, providing a close-up look at what a technical career entailed.
Between her growing fascination with electronics and seeing her sister successfully navigate that academic path, Ashwath realized that engineering was the natural direction for her future. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communications engineering at the SJB Institute of Technology in Bengaluru.
Initially, she envisioned a career path in very-large-scale integration. However, that focus shifted after she relocated to the United States to pursue a master’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of California, Irvine. Her true passion for physical circuits and semiconductor devices ignited during an internship at Intel in Santa Clara, California. During her time at Intel, she gained hands-on exposure to circuit design, package design, and advanced reliability verification tools such as Ansys Totem.
That comprehensive internship provided her with a holistic view of the entire semiconductor manufacturing pipeline. Seeing every layer of the chip development process gave her a much more complete picture of how complex hardware products are brought to life. Through that formative experience, she realized she felt the deepest connection to the design phase itself.
The blend of hard work and creative problem-solving is what ultimately drew her in. Starting with a set of rigid technical specifications, building a circuit from scratch, running extensive simulations, and then waiting months for the physical silicon to return from fabrication creates a unique professional dynamic. When a custom design functions exactly as intended on the first pass, it delivers a profound sense of satisfaction, teaching valuable lessons in patience and perseverance.
Following the completion of her master’s degree, Intel hired her as a full-time analog design engineer. There, she built a strong foundation in mixed-signal circuit design before eventually transitioning to Analog Devices. In her current role, she focuses heavily on consumer hearables—such as advanced wireless earbuds—and wearables, including fitness trackers and health-monitoring devices.
Her primary day-to-day focus involves designing ESD pad rings. These are the specialized, ruggedized border circuits built around the outermost perimeter of a microchip to protect internal pathways from electrostatic discharge. Without robust protection, sudden voltage spikes can permanently damage delicate circuit paths or introduce latent defects that cause hardware failures much later in the chip’s operational lifecycle.
Working on chips featuring multiple voltage domains requires meticulous planning regarding how protection structures are placed and interconnected across the entire pad ring. A single miscalculation can lead to field failures that are notoriously difficult to diagnose and debug after the fact. It is exceptionally detailed work that demands a deep mastery of device physics and a clear understanding of how every component on the chip integrates into a cohesive whole.
Part of her daily routine involves designing and creating the foundational building blocks of an integrated circuit, including ESD protection layouts and various mixed-signal modules. Before these components are approved for integration into a full chip, Ashwath conducts rigorous verification checks to ensure they perform flawlessly under simulated real-world conditions. This requires constant collaboration with ESD advisors, physical layout designers, and digital engineering teams responsible for the chip’s core logic. Working closely with these cross-functional groups to ensure analog circuits and digital blocks communicate harmoniously means that no two days on the job are ever exactly alike. In recognition of her dedication and cross-functional impact, she received the company’s Impact Award for her exceptional work on a critical, high-stakes project.
Presenting the Final Product to the World
Ashwath’s transition into external advocacy was sparked by a senior leader at Analog Devices who encouraged her to actively pursue high-visibility opportunities. While the vast majority of her time remains dedicated to circuit architecture and computer simulations, stepping out of the lab has given her a refreshing perspective on the tangible impact of her work.
At CES, standing face-to-face with customers, industry engineers, and members of the press provided a direct line of sight to the end user. The advanced earbuds she demonstrated are engineered to monitor microscopic acoustic vibrations generated by a user’s heart and lungs. According to company documentation, these subtle internal vibrations can potentially help detect underlying health conditions such as cardiac arrhythmias, leaky heart valves, or the early accumulation of fluid in the lungs.
Hearables are rapidly transforming from simple audio playback accessories into sophisticated, continuous health-monitoring platforms. The human ear canal turns out to be an ideal anatomical location for capturing physiological signals, allowing these discreet devices to monitor vital signs seamlessly while worn during normal daily routines.
The core engineering hurdle lies in achieving exceptionally high signal quality. The physiological signals researchers want to isolate are remarkably faint, often buried deep beneath the background noise caused by bodily movements and ambient environmental sounds. This is precisely where advanced analog front-end design becomes indispensable. Extracting a meaningful, life-improving signal from a noisy real-world environment is fundamentally an analog problem that requires elegant engineering solutions.
Interacting directly with conference attendees offered a powerful reminder of why these complex design choices matter. While designing individual circuit blocks requires a strict focus on technical specifications and mathematical margins, explaining the technology to everyday consumers at CES illuminated the human value behind the hardware. Connecting the microscopic world of the design bench to the lived experience of the consumer is an insight that engineers rarely get to witness firsthand.
Building on her success at CES, Ashwath has since presented several other core technologies she helped develop. At the annual National Association of Music Merchants show in Anaheim, California, she demonstrated the A2B Automotive Audio Bus to professionals across the audio industry. This specialized bus architecture utilizes cost-effective, unshielded twisted-pair cabling to transmit multichannel digital audio, control data, synchronized clocking signals, and system power over long distances in less than 50 microseconds.
Furthermore, at the company’s internal Global Technology Conference held in Boston—an event drawing engineers from more than 50 corporate sites worldwide—she led a live demonstration showcasing cutting-edge hardware solutions for augmented reality smart glasses. Navigating these diverse settings has taught her how to tailor complex technical narratives to vastly different audiences, transforming public communication into a refined professional skill.
Ultimately, the most rewarding aspect of her career remains the moment a physical product comes to life. Spending months on a rigorous design cycle involves a lengthy waiting period before discovering whether theoretical instincts were accurate. When physical laboratory measurements match computer simulations precisely, it provides the most satisfying milestone in the profession. Knowing that the intricate circuits she spends months perfecting ultimately end up inside consumer devices used by people around the world every single day provides a deep sense of professional fulfillment.
Giving Back to the Engineering Community
Like countless engineers worldwide, Ashwath initially joined IEEE primarily to gain seamless access to peer-reviewed research papers hosted in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library, helping her stay abreast of a fast-moving technological landscape. However, during her first full year of membership, she quickly discovered additional professional benefits, including valuable networking avenues and specialized educational events.
IEEE acts as an essential bridge connecting professionals to a broader technical community well beyond the walls of their own employer. Participating in technical talks and specialized lectures exposes engineers to alternative problem-solving methodologies and architectural approaches they might never encounter within their routine day-to-day projects.
Driven by a desire to stay deeply connected to ongoing advancements in circuits and systems, she eventually sought out active volunteer roles supporting IEEE conferences and academic publications. Serving as a peer reviewer for prominent events—such as the IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, the flagship conference of the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society, and the IEEE International Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems, the oldest conference of its kind in the United States—allows her to directly evaluate the technical merit of cutting-edge research. Assessing whether submitted academic work is robust enough for public presentation requires practicing engineers to invest significant time and expertise.
For Ashwath, the combination of continuous personal learning and active community contribution defines the true value of professional membership. Analog design is a discipline defined by lifelong education; just as an engineer masters one complex architecture, entirely new paradigms emerge. Remaining an active learner is not optional in the semiconductor industry—it is a fundamental job requirement made easier through active engagement with the global IEEE network.
By bridging the gap between industrial product development and academic research through her reviewing work, she continues to help shape the future of hardware engineering while keeping her own technical perspective sharp and forward-looking.
