In this exclusive, Jin Bains, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mini-Circuits, explains in a conversation with Dilin Anand of EFY about areas of emerging demand, and how constraints around size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) shape component priorities across markets such as space, defence, and telecom. He also touches upon the skill and role options available to RF engineers, and the common pitfalls to avoid while choosing a career path.
Q: To set the context, can you share an overview of Mini-Circuits and what has been happening in India, especially the Chennai operation?
A: Mini-Circuits is a well-established company in the radio frequency (RF) and microwave space. It has been around for 57 years since its founding in Brooklyn in 1968 by Harvey Kaylie. He initially ran the business out of his home, making the original components himself and even baking parts for burn-in testing in his kitchen. Kaylie was driven by a vision to create high-value products that could meet the needs of the RF and microwave industry at a good price point. Quality was always his massive primary focus, and he built the company forward from that Brooklyn foundation.
Today, we remain privately held by the Kaylie family. Harvey passed away in 2018, but by then the company had grown significantly, establishing a global footprint with sales operations worldwide, including physical locations in Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada, and multiple sites across the United States
Our facility in Chennai, India, was opened in 1999. The office was championed by a team member originally from Chennai who had worked in Brooklyn for eight years. Recognising the potential for Mini-Circuits in India, he wanted to return home, and Harvey gave him the opportunity to open the branch. Having just celebrated its 25th anniversary, this large operation now drives significant manufacturing innovation, houses extensive in-house research and development, and supports numerous other core business functions.
Q: Why did you choose to expand with a Bangalore office as well?
A: Chennai was for manufacturing, research and development, operations and some new designs. We have looked at India as a prominent market for several years, and we have been exploring how to build a bigger presence here. We used to work exclusively through our sales reps and distributors, who do an excellent job serving the regional market. But more recently, we hired our first field sales engineer, and then a field applications engineer to create a more direct line of contact at the corporate level for our customers and our reps. We are expanding our footprint in India, and we wanted a more focused sales effort here. Because of that, we opened the office in Bangalore a few months ago.
Q: Do you see recent changes in India’s support for technology and manufacturing having an impact on your business here?
A: It has an effect because we see a lot of opportunity and a lot of investment by both public and private enterprises in India. The government is very accommodating right now for growth of industry, and they’ve encouraged growth in various areas. Key sectors include defence, space applications, and telecom, such as Reliance Jio and various Bharat initiatives. We have been selling to these companies for many years. For example, we have been supporting Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for 20-plus years. Even before we had an operation in India for manufacturing, we were selling to India. It was always a good market for us, but now we see increased investment due to the growth-oriented environment. Because of that, it makes even more sense for us to be here in a bigger way now.
Q: Some customers say importing components can be difficult due to customs and sourcing friction. Have you seen similar feedback?
A: We don’t really see a whole lot of issues in that respect. I know the current tariff environment is restrictive, which poses a challenge both for our local manufacturing operation that occasionally ships materials to the United States and for our shipments into India, where tariffs apply to some of those items as well. So we get it on both sides. We are keeping our fingers crossed that the environment improves and allows for smoother trade between the United States and India. We are optimistic, and we hope that gets resolved soon.
Q: Your career spans test and measurement, large-scale connectivity, and satellite systems. How has that shaped your perspective as a components company CEO?
A: It broadened my horizons in a big way. Hewlett-Packard (HP) was a great place to learn RF and microwave, and as an early engineer, it was a fantastic place to be. I developed through that experience, moving into management and leadership positions before joining National Instruments to build up the RF and wireless division there. At Facebook, I served as the head of Southern California Connectivity, which involved finding innovative ways to bring internet access to the world. I was able to think broadly about novel technologies, whether in Wi-Fi, cellular, or space and satellite systems. There was a lot of space-satellite work in that timeframe, and it allowed me to go to countries like Kenya, Peru, and other places in South America, where there was less connectivity. We were looking for ways to get cost-effective internet connectivity to those areas. That experience at Facebook gave me a broad sense of what was happening in the world. Then I had the opportunity to join the Amazon program, which was very much a mega-constellation effort. Again, it was global, a large investment, highly challenging, and very thrilling to be part of.
Q: What did that “system-level” experience change in how you think about components?
A: It really reinforced the move into space. We did extensive work around cost-effective satellites with high data rates, connecting them together through inter-satellite links using optical technology. I spent a lot of time on space, optical technologies, and extreme millimetre-wave engineering in the 70-gigahertz-plus range.
Q: When you came to Mini-Circuits, how did you apply that full-system viewpoint in a component-level business?
A: That is a great question. My original background was in RF, microwave, and analogue design, after which I attended Stanford for wireless and optical communications, gaining a strong understanding of communication applications. Mini-Circuits operates very much at the component level, whereas some of the roles I held at National Instruments, HP, Facebook, and Amazon were more at the system level. At Mini-Circuits, I have found that all the sectors I previously worked in, including telecommunications, space, military defence, and test and measurement, are now our customers. This insight gives me a strong appreciation for what happens in their world and why they require these parts. That is why I am excited about our role at Mini-Circuits. We develop the foundational components necessary for numerous applications, including systems where I was once the customer.
Q: From the customer side, what requirements do you think component vendors must internalise—especially for space and similar systems?
A: I would say, the need for better performance, smaller form factors, and high sensitivity to direct current (DC) power, making sure parts are efficient. In a satellite system, you are highly constrained in terms of power while trying to keep the weight down. Consequently, the concept of size, weight, power, and cost, SWaP-C, becomes critical in applications like low-Earth-orbit satellites.
That insight helps drive what we do at Mini-Circuits. Performance is paramount, but the form factor is important too. We are doing more in terms of integrating complex assemblies than we did before. We also do a lot more space and military qualification work. During my time at Amazon, I ran teams doing radiation hardening, so I understood what it means to radiation-harden a satellite. We have a good, growing business at Mini-Circuits in high-reliability and space screening, with lots of opportunity. Those markets need it, and we can provide it cost-effectively. We would like to do more of that in India.
Q: How do your customers keep up with new components, vendors, and technology—without getting overwhelmed?
A: That is a really good question, and a hard one too. While we are entirely customer-obsessed, we respect our clients’ time and avoid inundating them. Instead, we focus on meaningful engagement through targeted webinars, a robust sales representative network, and a direct sales force that meets with customers regularly. The idea is to build a relationship. Once you have that, customers will often think of Mini-Circuits when they’re designing. Sometimes they contact us, and we get involved; sometimes we find out afterwards. Sometimes we find they went to our web page, learned what’s there, started buying parts, and then we see what they’re doing and engage from there. We have a very big catalogue. We try to keep the website up to date and easy to use, and we do regular email announcements of new parts, along with webinars, application notes and sessions like this.
Q: You mentioned “off-catalogue” parts and minimising EOL. How should engineers think about availability over long lifecycles?
A: Sometimes the off-catalogue parts were designed for a particular application, and we didn’t think it would have broad appeal. A customer might have needed a certain filter or amplifier, and we thought it was niche, so we did it. If it’s exclusive, then it’s not available to anybody else. If it’s not exclusive, we may have it available, and we can bring that design back up and provide it to other customers.
We try to minimise end-of-life for our products as much as possible. That is something Mini-Circuits is known for, and we are proud of it. While this requires us to maintain a larger inventory, handle an expansive catalogue, and manage more parts, our goal is to ensure customers can return 20 or 30 years later and get the part that’s in their system. We do everything we can to accommodate them.
Q: Across the RF and microwave range, where do you see strategic emphasis in frequency coverage and demand?
A: We generally operate from low megahertz, effectively down to DC, up to 110 gigahertz. The density of our product portfolio within any given frequency range is driven primarily by applications and customer demand. Consequently, we maintain an extensive selection of parts in the sub-6 gigahertz spectrum due to high market demand, alongside a robust offering in the Ku-band and selective coverage in the Ka-band moving into millimeter-wave frequencies. We have switches up to 67 gigahertz, and waveguide components up to 110 gigahertz.
While we maintain capabilities at higher frequencies and the ability to design into millimeter-wave systems, current market demand remains stronger within the lower RF and microwave ranges. However, we are beginning to see increased traction in Frequency Range 3 (FR3), spanning roughly 7 to 15 gigahertz, and are actively developing more parts for that band. Additionally, we are expanding our millimeter-wave footprint around the 40 to 50 gigahertz spectrum.
Q: What is driving demand in FR3?
A: FR3 is emerging as a critical band for 5G-Advanced and eventual 6G deployments, which is significantly driving market demand. Another interesting driver is X-band radar, specifically phased arrays in the 8 to 12 gigahertz range. There is a lot of activity in that band.
Q: Beyond FR3 and radar, which application segments are spiking for you?
A: For us, satellite space applications are really spiking up right now. Some of that is ground radar. In space, we have work in Ku-band or Ka-band, so we are seeing activity there. We also have a strong portfolio of 75-ohm cable television products, and we are seeing a lot of interest in our passive and active devices because of the rollout of the new DOCSIS 4.0 standard. Early FR3 work and radar applications are also driving substantial market demand.
Q: Are you seeing radar-related demand intersect with automotive electronics?
A: We are definitely seeing radar-system activity for automotive. We recently introduced some automotive-qualified parts in our micro-ceramic line, including filters, splitters, couplers, and baluns that are qualified to the AEC-Q200 automotive standard. We already had demand, which is why we did the work, and now we are beginning to see additional traction.
Much of automotive radar technology, such as 77 gigahertz systems, relies on highly integrated circuits. While our components may not be needed within the main chip itself, they are essential for the surrounding RF front-end. We do not manufacture the integrated circuits that power automotive radar for either the 24 gigahertz or 77 gigahertz bands. Our parts are generally complementary to those big chipsets.
Q: You have spoken about using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency. Where are you applying it today?
A: We are actively identifying opportunities to integrate AI across our business. Much of this comes through our existing tools; for instance, many of our Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools now feature built-in AI capabilities. Beyond engineering, we are leveraging AI to optimise our supply-chain processes for greater efficiency, and expanding its use in marketing to generate creative content and elevate customer experiences.
Because we operate in a high-mix, low- to medium-volume environment, leveraging AI for applications like test data is inherently challenging; however, we are actively evaluating our data using AI and machine-learning tools. Additionally, we are leveraging AI tools to accelerate design and simulation cycles. This remains an incredibly fast-moving landscape. You could ask me the same question a year from now, and we will probably have a lot more examples.
Q: Given your work on connectivity, what can practically support engineers building for cost-sensitive regions?
A: It comes back to SWaP-C, parts that are size-, weight-, and power-efficient and very cost-effective. If you look at open radio access network (open RAN), those radios need to be low-cost to operate in low-cost environments, areas like Africa and South America, and to do that they need low-cost components.
Q: For RF engineers reading this, what skills or roles do you see as differentiators over a career?
A: It is not entirely about design. While design is crucial, testing, qualification, product engineering, product management, and project management are all equally vital. In fact, a team of 10 or 15 people might only include two or three designers, while the rest consists of test engineers, quality engineers, product engineers, and marketing professionals.
I would encourage new RF engineers to think broadly. Develop strong technical skills, but also focus on communication and organisational skills. Learn to present well both orally and in writing, and stay in tune with where the world is going with AI and new tools. We appreciate people who come in knowing how to use the latest set of tools. They may be RF engineers, but they should be proficient in their use.
Q: For mid-career engineers, how can they evaluate whether they should move toward management or stay on a technical track?
A: These represent two entirely different skill sets. The engineering track is highly technical, which is precisely why we established the Fellow role at Mini-Circuits—allowing our engineers to continuously develop and advance their technical expertise.
On the management track, you need to be prepared to deal with people much more. This includes performance evaluations, feedback, coaching, and mentoring, as well as people dynamics and cross-collaboration that must happen. Managers are the ones who ensure those processes work the right way.
If a technical engineer wants to move into management, they should sample it first by supervising a few engineers, getting involved in non-technical organisational issues, and making sure they truly want to do it before jumping into a management role. This transition is not necessary in our company because you can specialise in a technical area and advance as high as a Fellow. It is always best to try it a bit before moving too fast.
Q: What are common pitfalls when a highly technical engineer transitions into management for the first time?
A: It is a common challenge. When people switch into management mid-career, the people around them often struggle to see them as a manager initially, because they still think of them primarily as a technical person. That person has to spend a lot of time establishing themselves in the management role, building relationships, and having the necessary conversations. They also need support from their own manager. If they do not have backing as they shift into a leadership role, it is a recipe for disaster. Transitions can be tricky, and should be done thoughtfully.
