Harness Design Engineer
Location: San Jose, CA
Employment Type: Full-Time
Work Arrangement: Onsite
Salary: $95,000 - $120,000/year
About the Role
We are seeking a Harness Design Engineer to own the complete lifecycle of electrical harness development for advanced spacecraft programs. This role combines electrical design, systems integration, and hands-on hardware development, supporting missions from initial concept through fabrication, integration, and flight acceptance.
The ideal candidate will have experience designing aerospace-grade wiring harnesses and enjoy working closely with electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, and integration teams to deliver reliable flight hardware. This is an opportunity to play a critical role in the development of next-generation satellite systems operating in demanding space environments.
What You'll Do
- Design and develop spacecraft electrical harnesses from requirements definition through fabrication, integration, and acceptance testing
- Create and maintain harness design documentation, including wire lists, schematics, connector selections, drawings, and routing diagrams
- Author and maintain engineering specifications, manufacturing work instructions, and acceptance test procedures (ATPs)
- Support and lead harness fabrication efforts alongside manufacturing and technician teams, providing build support and resolving production discrepancies
- Perform and review electrical analyses, including wire sizing, voltage drop calculations, grounding and shielding strategies, and derating assessments
- Lead spacecraft harness integration activities, including continuity testing, pull testing, hi-pot testing, and functional verification
- Drive continuous improvement initiatives through lessons learned, Design for Manufacturability (DFM) reviews, and failure investigations
- Work directly with suppliers and vendors to specify, procure, and qualify harness components such as connectors, wire, backshells, and associated hardware
What We're Looking For
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline
- 2+ years of experience designing electrical harnesses for aerospace, spacecraft, defense, or other high-reliability systems
- Hands-on experience with harness design tools such as OnShape, Altium, or similar platforms
- Experience supporting hardware through build, integration, and test phases
- Solid understanding of grounding, shielding, and EMI/EMC principles for complex electrical systems
- Strong technical documentation skills, including specifications, engineering drawings, and manufacturing work instructions
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience supporting LEO, GEO, or other spacecraft programs
- Familiarity with aerospace wiring and connector standards, including MIL-DTL-38999, MIL-W-22759, NASA-STD-8739.4, or similar
- Knowledge of NASA, ECSS, or equivalent aerospace workmanship standards
- IPC/WHMA-A-620 certification or equivalent harness manufacturing certification
- Experience working within AS9100 quality management environments
- Familiarity with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) or Product Data Management (PDM) systems
Why Join Us?
- Contribute directly to the development of next-generation spacecraft and satellite systems
- Own critical hardware from concept through flight-ready integration
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams in a fast-paced aerospace environment
- Gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge spaceflight hardware and mission-critical systems
- Play a key role in delivering reliable spacecraft that support Earth observation, communications, science, and exploration missions