Electrical Integration Engineer

Powerus; Charlotte (NC); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Powerus in Charlotte, NC is seeking an Electrical Integration Engineer to define and document the vehicle-level electrical design for unmanned aircraft platforms. You will work with hardware, mechanical, propulsion, and manufacturing engineers, spending time on the aircraft with a meter in hand during integration.

The role emphasizes harness design, grounding, shielding, load budgets, and on-site problem solving to ensure the system functions across flight phases. U.S.

Qualifications

• Degree in electrical engineering or related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• Experience with vehicle/aircraft/robotics electrical installations.
• Ability to read wiring diagrams and pinouts and keep docs updated.
• Hands-on troubleshooting with live hardware using multimeters and scopes.

Responsibilities

• Design vehicle wire harnesses - conductor and gauge selection, shielding, overbraid, strain relief, service loops, and routing that survives vibration, flex, and maintenance access
• Select connectors and backshells against environment, current, mating cycles, sealing, keying, and mass, and standardize the connector set across platforms where it makes sense
• Define grounding, bonding, and shield termination schemes for the vehicle, and hold the discipline that keeps sensitive signals clean next to motors and radios
• Build and maintain electrical load and power distribution budgets, covering steady state, peak, and fault conditions across flight phases
• Own harness documentation - wiring diagrams, from-to lists, connector pinouts, interface control documents, and harness assembly drawings
• Support harness build and installation with manufacturing and technicians, including build aids, first-article review, and workmanship feedback
• Lead electrical integration and troubleshooting on the aircraft: continuity and insulation checks, power-on sequencing, intermittent fault isolation, and closing findings with the responsible design team
• Drive electrical configuration control across vehicle variants and revisions, so what is documented matches what is installed
• Support environmental, ground, and flight test by instrumenting installations and investigating anomalies that cross the harness boundary

Skills

Wiring diagrams

Grounding & bonding

Troubleshooting

Oscilloscope use

Multimeter use

Pinouts & interface docs

On-site installation

Education

Electrical Engineering degree

Tools

CAD software

Harness tooling

Job description

Mission

Our mission is to deliver resilient autonomous technologies that strengthen national security, improve operational safety, and expand the capabilities of organizations operating in complex environments.

Why Join Powerus

Boards that pass every bench test still have to be joined together by wire, and that is where a surprising share of field failures are born - a connector chosen for the wrong environment, a shield grounded at both ends, a harness routed alongside a motor lead, a ground return nobody drew. As Powerus builds a growing family of aircraft in North Carolina and California, the vehicle-level electrical design has to be engineered deliberately rather than accumulated build by build.

This role owns everything between the boxes. You will design the harnesses, choose the connectors, define how the aircraft grounds and shields, keep the power and load budgets honest, and be on the floor when a vehicle powers on for the first time.

Position Overview

Every wire on the aircraft belongs to this role. Powerus is seeking an Electrical Integration Engineer to define and document the vehicle-level electrical design across our unmanned platforms, from power distribution architecture through the physical harness that implements it. This position requires U.S. Person status, as the work involves access to export-controlled technical data. You will work with hardware, mechanical, propulsion, payload, and manufacturing engineers, and you will spend real time on the aircraft with a meter in your hand during integration and troubleshooting. Expect to be on-site in Charlotte with vehicles in front of you.

Key Responsibilities

• Design vehicle wire harnesses - conductor and gauge selection, shielding, overbraid, strain relief, service loops, and routing that survives vibration, flex, and maintenance access
• Select connectors and backshells against environment, current, mating cycles, sealing, keying, and mass, and standardize the connector set across platforms where it makes sense
• Define grounding, bonding, and shield termination schemes for the vehicle, and hold the discipline that keeps sensitive signals clean next to motors and radios
• Build and maintain electrical load and power distribution budgets, covering steady state, peak, and fault conditions across flight phases
• Own harness documentation - wiring diagrams, from-to lists, connector pinouts, interface control documents, and harness assembly drawings
• Support harness build and installation with manufacturing and technicians, including build aids, first-article review, and workmanship feedback
• Lead electrical integration and troubleshooting on the aircraft: continuity and insulation checks, power-on sequencing, intermittent fault isolation, and closing findings with the responsible design team
• Drive electrical configuration control across vehicle variants and revisions, so what is documented matches what is installed
• Support environmental, ground, and flight test by instrumenting installations and investigating anomalies that cross the harness boundary

Qualifications

• Must be located in the United States, within commuting distance of Charlotte, NC, and able to work on-site
• Degree in electrical engineering or a related field, or equivalent practical experience
• Experience with vehicle, aircraft, robotics, or comparable electrical installations, including wiring, connectors, and hands-on assembly or rework
• Working knowledge of grounding, bonding, shielding, and the practical reasons noise appears where it does
• Ability to produce and read wiring diagrams, pinouts, and interface documentation, and keep them accurate as a design changes
• Hands-on troubleshooting skill with multimeters, oscilloscopes, and current measurement on live hardware
• U.S. Person status required (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)); this role involves access to ITAR- and EAR-controlled technical data

Preferred Qualifications

• Aerospace, defense, motorsport, or automotive harness experience, including environmental sealing and vibration-tolerant routing
• Familiarity with aerospace wiring practice and standards such as IPC/WHMA-A-620, SAE AS50881, or MIL-DTL circular connector families
• Experience with harness design or routing tools, or with 3D routing inside a CAD assembly
• Exposure to EMI and EMC troubleshooting on an integrated vehicle
• Experience supporting production harness build, including tooling, build boards, and technician-facing documentation
• Familiarity with NDAA Section 848 and Blue UAS sourcing constraints as they affect connector and cable selection

What We Look For

We are looking for an engineer who is happiest where the drawing meets the aircraft. This work rewards people who think about the technician who has to install the harness and the maintainer who has to remove it, who chase an intermittent instead of rebooting past it, and who keep documentation current because they have been burned by a diagram that lied. You should be comfortable being the person who knows how the whole vehicle is wired, and direct with design teams when their box makes the rest of the aircraft harder to integrate.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Powerus is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and mission-driven workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.