Electrical Engineer

HireOTS; California (MO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

engineeringjobs.net, Inc. seeks an Electrical Engineer to design PCBs and interfaces for automotive/vehicle systems, translating requirements into reliable hardware.

You will draft schematics, layouts, and documentation, collaborating with software and mechanical teams to ensure robust integration. Ideal candidates have automotive hardware experience, KiCAD proficiency, and hands-on testing with oscilloscopes and multimeters, to build and verify high-reliability electronics for real-world

Qualifications

• Experience designing circuit boards for automotive or vehicle systems.
• Schematic design and PCB layout experience with ECAD tools.
• Proficiency with KiCAD or similar ECAD tool.
• Familiarity with common electrical test equipment (multimeter, oscilloscope).

Responsibilities

• Analyze and document vehicle electrical interfaces and control systems.
• Design and implement custom PCBs and wiring interfaces for vehicle systems.
• Create and maintain electrical schematics, pinouts, and signal specs.
• Develop hardware test methods and documentation for reliability and safety.

Skills

Designing circuit boards

Schematic design

PCB layout

ECAD proficiency

Signal integrity knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

KiCAD

Multimeter

Oscilloscope

Job description

Job Title: Electrical Engineer

• Focus;
• Drive By Wire
• Carrier Board (FPGA, facing cameras)
• Digital Electronics, Domain Controller (Compute Box)

Headcount: 7

YoE: 5 yrs

Location / Travel: San Francisco, CA

Team/Department: Electrical / Hardware [Transport]

Reporting to: Tom Mulroy,

Reason for hiring: Needs to build our own electronics to power the software that runs and drives the car

Offer Visa Sponsorship: Yes

Selling:

• All products you design will be installed on the first fleet of vehicles deployed in the real world for testing, at a high volume before end of the year.

Immediate Projects:

• Drive By Wire
  • Designing components on Squid board (PCB circuit board), vehicle DBW interface
  • Steering interface board, same idea as above
  • Power distribution systems (power system design)
• Carrier Board, Compute
  • New Generation Compute System

Responsibilities:

Vehicle Interface & Controls

• Analyze and document CAN bus, J1939, Analog and direct digital signals, direct signaling, and vehicle-specific communication protocols on heavy equipment
• Create comprehensive technical documentation for electrical interfaces and vehicle control systems
• Document electrical schematics, pinouts, and signal specifications for integration points

Drive-by-Wire System Development

• Design and implement custom circuit boards for electronic and actuator-based vehicle operation
• Implement fail-safe mechanisms and redundant control pathways for safety-critical systems
• Work with cross-team engineers to design custom wiring harnesses and connector solutions for harsh industrial environments

General

Advanced PCB Design

• Design multi-layer motherboards for compute units handling real-time control systems
• Implement high-speed differential signaling for camera interfaces, GNSS, and LiDAR signaling
• Design mixed-signal circuits combining power electronics with sensitive sensor processing
• Adhere to high standards for signal robustness and DFA

Hardware Testing & Documentation

• Document testing requirements for environmental durability and system reliability of hardware components
• Design and build hardware test apparatus for validation and troubleshooting
• Support quality assurance processes and technical documentation standards

Integration & Deployment Support

• Support field installations and troubleshoot hardware issues at customer sites
• Work closely with software and mechanical teams to optimize system integration
• Collaborate with team members to develop tight system interfaces in a rapid iteration environment

Must Have:

• Designing circuit boards
• Schematic Design and Layout
• ECAD, Schematic capture and layout
• KiCAD (we use)
• Common Electrical Tools (multi multimeter, Oscilloscope)

Nice to Have:

• Radar, LiDAR, Sensors, Camera Interfaces
• DFM (Design for Manufacturing)
• Testing & QA

Ideal Background: Automotive or vehicle systems (including drones)

Ideal Education: Electrical Engineering

Companies to Target:

• Tesla
• SpaceX
• Humanoid potentially
• Zoox, Cruise, Waymo, Nuro etc
• Zipline, Skydio
• Defense startups
• NO Defense conglomerates like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, etc. (avoid in general - tend to be slow and process driven)

Have you hired for this kind of role in the past?

• Challenges?
• What's worked, what hasn't?
• What did you like, what should we stay away from?

Any technical qualification questions with black & white answers the recruiter can use to vet?

• Q: Have you designed a PCB? What did it do? Was it for work or a hobby? What ECAD software did you use?
• A: they must have designed a PCB, ideally for work. If it's for a hobby, ask them to explain & take notes on what it did.

Rippling Posting - DBW EE