Staff Harness & Interconnect Engineer

Team: Engineering & Operations

Location: Saratoga, CA

Commitment: Full-Time

Workplace Type: onsite

Salary:

What you’ll be doing:

CONNECTOR & INTERCONNECT DESIGN 

• Design and qualify custom and COTS connectors for spacecraft applications including shielded/unshielded low-pin-count, board-to-board, coax, high-speed, and fiber-optic interfaces. 

• Own connector selection trades across mass, volume, retention force, signal integrity, and space qualification requirements. 

• Develop overmolding tooling and processes for connector space qualification. 

• Coordinate with domestic and East Asian connector vendors on custom solutions, design reviews, and qualification activities. 

CABLE & HARNESS DESIGN 

• End-to-end ownership of cable and harness design: wire gauge selection, shielding architecture (STP, coax), routing, and drawing creation. 

• Drive cable manufacturing solutions from prototype through volume production. 

• Evaluate and specify specialty cables including ultra-lightweight coax and space-grade fiber optic assemblies. 

• Support harness manufacturing process development: stripping, termination (hotbar/wave solder), potting, and protection (sleeving, tape, fixation). 

ELECTRICAL INTERFACE & INTEGRATION 

• Develop and maintain the Electrical Interface Control Document (EICD) and from/to interconnect lists driving connector selection across the spacecraft bus. 

• Interface with systems, RF, power, and digital teams on signal routing, impedance requirements, and EMI/EMC considerations. 

• Work with internal engineering teams to optimize board placement and overall connectivity strategy. 

• Evaluate emerging interconnect technologies: laser-cut FPC, conductive adhesives, silver ink traces, and R2R-compatible solutions for antenna and thin-film applications. 

VENDOR & MANUFACTURING 

• Manage vendor relationships for connectors, cables, and interconnect components across domestic and East Asian suppliers. 

• Support manufacturing equipment sourcing and process development for cable stripping, termination, and assembly. 

• Partner with manufacturing teams to ensure high success rates in engineering-to-manufacturing transitions, including process validation, documentation, and first-article support. 

• Drive design-for-manufacturing optimization on interconnect solutions to hit cost and mass targets at constellation scale. 

What you bring to this role:

• BS in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline. 

• 10+ years in interconnect, harness, or electro-mechanical design with at least 5 years on spacecraft or aerospace programs. 

• Hands-on experience with connector selection and qualification for space environments (thermal cycling, vibration, vacuum, outgassing). 

• Familiarity with IPC-620 (cable/harness), J-STD, and relevant NASA/ECSS/SAE workmanship standards. 

• Experience with CAD and harness design tools (SolidWorks, RapidHarness, Zuken, or equivalent). 

• Proficiency with lab equipment: multimeters, soldering, crimpers, TDR, hand tools. 

• Direct experience managing international component and cable vendors. 

Bonus points for the following:

• MS in EE, ME, or related field. 

• Experience with high-speed interconnects (PCIe, LVDS) and signal integrity basics. 

• Coax cable design and RF connector experience. 

• Fiber optic interconnect experience (transceiver integration, cable assemblies). 

• Exposure to flex/rigid-flex PCB design and mechanical packaging. 

• Experience with Altium Designer for PCB-level connector integration. 

• Background in NPI and scaling from prototype to volume production in NewSpace or high-rate manufacturing. 

• Familiarity with LEO constellation environments and radiation considerations.