Harness Design Engineer I/II Verified today

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity's reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

Space Systems Team

Our Space Systems team builds complete spacecraft, precision payloads, and subsystems including solar panels, flight software, star trackers, optical systems, separation systems, and radios. The team has enabled more than 1,700 missions, ranging from interplanetary exploration to national security and defense initiatives, working with NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force.

The Role

Based in Long Beach, CA, you will design electrical harnesses for our spacecraft, organizing interfaces, selecting components, specifying split locations and lengths, and generating design documentation for our spacecraft engineering team. You will also assist in electrical engineering activities for spacecraft and space systems components, including avionics circuit design, analysis, prototyping and testing.

What You'll Do

Harnessing responsibilities:

• Perform or support harness layout, connector and back shell selection, wire selection, and shielding design for spacecraft
• Generate pinout tables for harness connectors based on spacecraft interconnect diagrams
• Create and maintain BOMs for harnessing in the product lifecycle management (PLM) tool
• Assist in creating documentation for electrical system schematics and harness designs

Avionics responsibilities:

• Develop test plans and procedures for avionics subsystems and components
• Perform analysis and evaluations to optimize spacecraft avionics circuits for performance, reliability, and manufacturability
• Participate in internal design and customer facing review meetings as a representative of the avionics electrical engineering team
• Work in multi-disciplinary teams to assist in design of electronic assemblies for satellite and spacecraft programs

Qualifications for Harness Design Engineer I

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, or other engineering discipline
• Experience with electrical engineering or avionics

Qualifications for Harness Design Engineer II

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, or other engineering discipline
• 2 or more years of electrical engineering or avionics experience

Nice to Have

• Master's or PhD in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, or other engineering discipline
• Experience in the aerospace or defense industry
• Experience supporting satellite development programs and satellite operations
• Understanding of the space environment, orbital mechanics, and rigid body dynamics
• Experience with LT Spice, Altium, and/or Siemens software suite (Teamcenter)
• Experience with requirement management tools such as JAMA
• Experience with testing electrical subsystems and assemblies, thermal vacuum or random vibration, and hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) testing
• Proficiency in electronics principles and electrical systems, including power electronics, communication systems (RS-422, SPI, Ethernet, CAN bus), signal integrity, and grounding
• Proficiency with instrumentation, interfaces, and sensors, including power supplies, oscilloscopes, serial devices, accelerometers, thermocouples, RTDs, and 4-20mA sensors
• Ability to work in a dynamic environment with competing priorities

Compensation

Base Salary: $82,400 - $126,000 USD

Total Compensation (base and equity): $89,350 - $143,625 USD

You will receive company stock as part of your total compensation package. Anticipated annual equity grant value is designed around function, level, experience, and other factors; realized value depends on vesting and stock-price performance.

Benefits

Comprehensive benefits include industry-leading Employee Stock Purchase Program (15% discount on company stock), top-tier medical plans (HMO, PPO, and zero-cost HDHP option with significant HSA company contribution), dental and vision coverage, paid vacation and sick time, 11 paid holidays, flexible spending and dependent care accounts, paid parental leave, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement plan with company match, subsidized EV charging, onsite fitness centers (where available), discounted gym memberships, complimentary snacks and beverages, 50% employee discount on merch store, and various other employee discounts.

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), employees must be a U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable.

Working Conditions

This position may require prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, and computer work, with occasional exposure to moderate levels of noise, dust, and fumes in production areas.