diff --git a/src/mcltspice/raw_parser.py b/src/mcltspice/raw_parser.py
index f9b8a27..13742b2 100644
--- a/src/mcltspice/raw_parser.py
+++ b/src/mcltspice/raw_parser.py
@@ -52,6 +52,19 @@ class RawFile:
                 return arr
         return None
 
+    def resolve_index(self, name: str) -> int | None:
+        """Return a variable's data-row index by exact name (case-insensitive).
+
+        Unlike get_variable (partial match, returns the data array), this does an
+        exact case-insensitive name match and returns the integer row index into
+        self.data, or None if there's no exact match.
+        """
+        name_lower = name.lower()
+        for var in self.variables:
+            if var.name.lower() == name_lower:
+                return var.index
+        return None
+
     def get_time(self, run: int | None = None) -> np.ndarray | None:
         """Get the time axis (for transient analysis)."""
         return self.get_variable("time", run=run)
diff --git a/src/mcltspice/server.py b/src/mcltspice/server.py
index acfb7c3..f2aef06 100644
--- a/src/mcltspice/server.py
+++ b/src/mcltspice/server.py
@@ -1272,17 +1272,10 @@ async def tune_circuit(
     if raw is None:
         return {"error": "No raw data from simulation", "params_used": effective_params}
 
-    # Find the signal variable
-    sig_idx = None
-    time_idx = None
-    freq_idx = None
-    for var in raw.variables:
-        if var.name.lower() == signal.lower():
-            sig_idx = var.index
-        if var.name.lower() == "time":
-            time_idx = var.index
-        if var.name.lower() == "frequency":
-            freq_idx = var.index
+    # Find the signal variable (exact, case-insensitive)
+    sig_idx = raw.resolve_index(signal)
+    time_idx = raw.resolve_index("time")
+    freq_idx = raw.resolve_index("frequency")
 
     if sig_idx is None:
         available = [v.name for v in raw.variables]
@@ -1513,19 +1506,18 @@ async def plot_waveform(
     signal_list = signals if signals else [signal]
     is_multi = len(signal_list) > 1
 
-    # Resolve all signal names (case-insensitive)
+    # Resolve all signal names (exact, case-insensitive)
     sig_names = [v.name for v in raw_data.variables]
     sig_lower = {s.lower(): s for s in sig_names}
     resolved: list[tuple[str, int]] = []  # (actual_name, index)
     for s in signal_list:
-        actual = sig_lower.get(s.lower())
-        if actual is None:
+        idx = raw_data.resolve_index(s)
+        if idx is None:
             return {
                 "error": f"Signal '{s}' not found",
                 "available_signals": sig_names,
             }
-        idx = next(i for i, v in enumerate(raw_data.variables) if v.name == actual)
-        resolved.append((actual, idx))
+        resolved.append((sig_lower[s.lower()], idx))
 
     # Get x-axis data (time or frequency)
     x_var = raw_data.variables[0]