Harness Design Engineer 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, and expand humanity's reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Space Systems Team
The 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 initiatives, working with partners including NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force.
The Role
Based in Long Beach, CA, you will design electrical harnesses for spacecraft, organizing interfaces, selecting components, specifying split locations and lengths, and generating design documentation for the 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.
Harness Design Responsibilities
- Perform 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 and customer-facing design review meetings as an avionics electrical engineering team representative
- Work in multi-disciplinary teams to assist in design of electronic assemblies for satellite and spacecraft programs
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical engineering, or other engineering discipline
- 2+ years of electrical engineering or avionics experience
- US citizenship required due to program requirements
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's or PhD in aerospace, mechanical, electrical engineering, or other engineering discipline
- Aerospace or defense industry experience
- Satellite development program and operations experience
- Understanding of space environment, orbital mechanics, and rigid body dynamics
- Experience with LT Spice, Altium, and Siemens software suite (Teamcenter)
- Experience with requirement management tools such as JAMA
- Testing experience: thermal vacuum, random vibration, 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 and sensors including power supplies, oscilloscopes, serial devices, accelerometers, thermocouples, RTDs, and 4-20mA sensors
- Ability to work in dynamic environment with competing priorities
Compensation and Benefits
Base pay range (CA only): $108,000 to $162,000 USD. Compensation includes company stock, Employee Stock Purchase Program (15% discount), medical plans (HMO, PPO, zero-cost HDHP with HSA 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) with company match, subsidized EV charging, onsite fitness centers, discounted gym memberships, complimentary snacks and beverages, 50% employee discount on merchandise, and various employee discounts.
Working Conditions
This position may require prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, computer work, and occasional exposure to moderate levels of noise, dust, and fumes in production areas.