Electrical Engineer

Second Order Effects; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity (via ISOs)

Equity (via PIUs)

Health insurance (full)

Flexible PTO

11 paid holidays

401(k) with employer match

Relocation assistance

EV charging at LAX office

Daily catered lunches

Job summary

Second Order Effects is seeking an Electrical Engineer to design high‑performance electrical systems across diverse projects. You will work with a collaborative team to develop solutions for challenging use cases and client requirements.

The role covers architecture, hardware, firmware, and verification, with emphasis on delivering robust designs and effective documentation. On-site collaboration is essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Math, or related field.
• 3+ years of applied engineering experience with demonstrated passion for development.

Responsibilities

• Drive design efforts for electronic systems including circuitry and firmware/ software.
• Perform component selection and trade studies to meet design requirements.
• Capture schematics and PCB layouts; create symbols and footprints.

Skills

C/C++ firmware

Embedded programming

Verilog HDL

Circuit design

PCB layout

Thermal management

Digital design

ARM Cortex-M

OS fundamentals

CI/CD

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

KiCad

Cadence

PADS

EAGLE

LTSpice

Job description

Company Overview

Second Order Effects started in 2016 as a services firm, taking on other companies’ hardest engineering problems from first principles. We grew into a solutions firm that designs and ships complete custom electronics and systems, including power electronics, RF, and control systems. We’ve completed over 250 projects for more than 100 clients. Our designs control rocket engines, manage satellite communications, instrument fusion reactors, and are enjoyed by consumers around the world.

We approach problems from first principles. We break challenges down to their most fundamental components, which is how we find solutions that hold up across industries, use cases, and engineering functions. We focus on solving the right problems and building the teams to take them on. Because we believe that training and empowering others yields a greater impact than focusing on developing any specific technology, we expect every single member of our team to participate in building up those around them.

In the past year, we’ve started taking our own concepts and spinning them out into separate companies that we believe will meet the emerging needs of our clients and the industry at large. The work is concentrating in frontier technology, including space, fusion and fission energy, and advanced vehicles. We currently have two spinout companies in stealth that we’re working on.

Information about our mission, vision, and values can be found here.

Examples of the projects we have worked on can be found here.

The Role

As an Electrical Engineer, you will support the design, architecture, and implementation of high performance electrical systems across a diverse range of projects. You will work alongside a collaborative team of engineers to find and develop the right solutions for the problems at hand and client use case. If you’re passionate about tackling mission‑critical challenges and working across multiple industries, this is your chance to make a lasting impact and grow in a dynamic environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive design efforts for electronic systems, including architecture and implementation details of circuitry and software/firmware
• Perform component selection and trade studies of different implementation options to best generate and satisfy design requirements
• Capture schematics and design PCB layouts, create component symbols and footprints
• Circuit simulation and thermal analysis of designs, including sizing of thermal management systems
• Develop firmware in C/C++ for microcontrollers, or digital design in Verilog HDL for FPGAs
• Write and execute test plans for device validation and performance characterization
• Take ownership of the design, development, testing, and end‑to‑end technical support for projects
• Assess design risks and develop mitigation strategies
• Create documentation for hardware, software and systems
• Interface with internal teams and external clients to conduct design reviews for hardware/electronic systems and code reviews for software/firmware/HDL

Minimum Requirements

• Able to work 40 hours a week on‑site in El Segundo, California, or Redmond, Washington
• Eligible to work on ITAR projects
• Bachelor's Degree (Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Math, or related field) or equivalent experience
• 3+ years of applied experience with a demonstrated passion for engineering and technology development
• Excellent written and verbal technical communication skills; ability to explain technical concepts and their implications to non‑technical audiences
• Experience in any common ECAD tool, such as Altium Designer, KiCad, Cadence, PADS, EAGLE, etc.
• Experience with C/C++ firmware development or Verilog HDL development
• Experience in modeling, simulation, and testing of electronics
• Familiarity with standard digital communication methods including serial / UART, SPI, and I2C
• Expertise with one or more of the following: analog circuits, mixed‑signal designs, embedded programming, RF, power electronics, or optical systems development

Preferred Requirements

• Experience in team‑based design and build projects (e.g., Formula SAE, Solar Car, CubeSat, Rover Challenge, etc.)
• End‑to‑end electronics design experience: taking designs from requirements generation through schematic, layout, fabrication, and hardware bringup
• Experience with analog small‑signal circuit design (filters, op‑amp circuits, signal conditioning) and/or power electronics designs: regulators, load drivers, supply filters, protection circuitry
• Knowledge of PCB fabrication and assembly process, design for manufacture and design for assembly (DFM / DFA), familiarity with IPC and/or JEDEC standards
• Experience interfacing with PCB and assembly vendors to have designs fabricated
• Large‑format or high‑density or high‑layer‑count PCB design experience, preferably for aerospace, automotive, medical, or other high‑reliability applications
• Expertise with Altium Designer or KiCad
• Familiarity with Python and/or MATLAB for data parsing and signal analysis
• Familiarity with LTSpice for circuit simulation
• Experience with a range of ARM Cortex‑M devices (e.g., STM32, NXP S32K, TI TMS570, etc.) and Lattice or Xilinx FPGAs
• Excellent understanding of OS fundamentals (e.g., schedulers, memory management, network stacks, file system architectures, etc.) and computer architecture or digital design fundamentals
• Experience with continuous integration and testing (CI/CD) or related high‑reliability software development strategies

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range dependent on leveling
  • Engineer I: $100,000 - $130,000
  • Engineer II: $125,000 - $170,000
  • Senior Engineer: $155,00 - $200,000
• Equity (via ISOs) in Second Order Effects, Inc.
• Equity (via PIUs) in our incubated companies (through our holding company, Second Order Holdings, LLC)
• 100% employer‑paid health insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision) for employees + 50% dependent coverage
• Flexible paid time off policy + 11 paid holidays + 12 paid sick days
• 401(k) retirement account and employer matching (Safe Harbor 4%)
• Up to 22 weeks of paid parental leave dedicated to new child bonding
• Relocation assistance available if 50+ miles away from the office
• Electric Vehicle (EV) charging ports at our LAX office
• Daily catered lunches, snacks, and accessible kitchen

Second Order Effects is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SOE is governed on the basis of excellence and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.