Harness Manufacturing Engineer

Department: Engineering

Location: Munich, Germany

Employment Type: FullTime

Here at The Exploration Company, we are developing, producing, and operating Nyx, a modular and reusable space orbital vehicle that can eventually be refuelled in orbit and that can carry cargo - and potentially humans in the longer run.

To support this mission, we are bringing harness manufacturing in-house and are looking for a Harness Manufacturing Engineer to help industrialize, build, and validate high-reliability electrical harnesses used across the Nyx avionics and test campaigns.

In this role, your scope will be continuously evolving. Day-to-day you will help translate harness design outputs into robust manufacturing processes and deliver flight-like and test harnesses with strong quality, repeatability, and documentation.

Key Responsibilities

In your capacity as a Harness Manufacturing Engineer, your responsibilities will typically include:

Manufacturing & Assembly Execution

• Build electrical harnesses (development, qualification, and test harnesses), including cut/strip, crimp, splice, solder (where applicable), lacing/tie, over-braid/shield terminations, labeling, and final assembly.

• Support batch-by-batch production for test campaigns and verification activities (e.g., shock/vibration, EMI/EMC, TVAC), coordinating readiness of parts, tooling, and work instructions.

Process Engineering & Industrialization

• Define and maintain work instructions, travelers, inspection plans, and process parameters to ensure repeatable builds.

• Specify/qualify tooling (crimp tools, insertion/extraction tools, testers, microscopes, torque tools) and implement calibration/maintenance routines.

• Drive continuous improvement on build flow, takt time, first-pass yield, rework reduction, and traceability.

Quality, Testing & Verification Support

• Define and run electrical checks: continuity, isolation/hipot (as applicable), pin-to-pin verification, shield termination verification, and basic troubleshooting of build issues.

• Participate in nonconformance handling (rework/repair dispositions), root cause analysis, and corrective actions with the engineering and quality teams.

Cross-functional Collaboration

• Work closely with harness design and integration stakeholders to ensure manufacturability (DFM), clarity of drawings, and alignment between wiring diagrams and physical assembly.

• Coordinate with supply chain on components, lead times, alternates, and kitting readiness to avoid build stoppages.

Documentation & Traceability

• Maintain “as-built” records, deviations, rework logs, and configuration/serial tracking for harnesses and critical components.

What we would love to see from you

For the Harness Manufacturing Engineer role, you ideally bring experience with the following:

• Degree in Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.

• Strong hands-on experience with wiring harness manufacturing in high-reliability contexts (aerospace/space, aviation, motorsport, defense, medical, or similar).

• Ability to interpret harness drawings, wiring diagrams, BOMs, and connector tables; comfort working from controlled documentation.

• Solid understanding of harness workmanship principles (crimp quality, strain relief, routing/bend radius, shielding/grounding practices, torquing of backshells, etc.).

• Experience defining manufacturing processes and writing clear work instructions for technicians.

• Practical troubleshooting skills (identify pinning errors, shorts/opens, intermittent faults, damaged contacts, shielding issues, etc.).

• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift based on test and integration needs.

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with aerospace/space workmanship standards and inspection approaches (e.g., IPC-style workmanship, connector acceptance criteria, traceability practices).

• Experience with harness electrical test equipment and automated test report generation.

• Understanding of EMI/EMC-sensitive build practices (shield termination strategies, pigtail control, bonding/grounding considerations), aligned with the fact that harnesses support EMI/EMC test activities.

• Prior experience supporting test harness builds for environmental testing (vibration, thermal-vac, etc.).

Why you should join us!

What makes us special here at The Exploration Company and why we think you will enjoy working here is:  

• We’re Agile - we make decisions fast whilst keeping our goals and systems in mind 

• We’re Open and Collaborative - we are transparent about risks and obstacles, so that we can cooperate to overcome them  

• We have a lot of Fun - we refuel our energy knowing we are democratising space. It’s a wonderful and rare opportunity, are YOU up for the challenge?  

We'd love to hear from you if you wish to be a part of our journey. Please submit your CV now for immediate consideration and we will be in touch shortly. 
 
The Exploration Company is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, colour, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status or disability status. Relocation assistance is provided for those willing to relocate including visa sponsorship where applicable.