Electrical Wire Harness Engineer

Optimal; Elkhart (IN); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Optimal EV in Elkhart, Indiana, seeks an E/E Electrical System and Harness Engineer to design and launch vehicle wiring harnesses and electrical systems for electric commercial vehicles.

You will create schematics, harness drawings, connector definitions, and wire sizing, and collaborate with production, body builders, suppliers, and controls teams to ensure manufacturability and serviceability. The role involves hands-on work at the Elkhart site and frequent coordination across teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• Experience with automotive wiring harness design or vehicle electrical systems.
• Ability to read and create electrical schematics and wiring diagrams.
• Understanding of automotive connectors, wire sizing, fuses/relays, grounding, and CAN networks.
• Hands-on vehicle electrical troubleshooting experience.
• Ability to collaborate with production technicians and engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain wiring diagrams, harness drawings, connector definitions, and wire sizing.
• Define electrical interfaces between chassis, body, controls, charging, and auxiliary systems.
• Develop low-voltage harnesses and electrical interfaces for current and future platforms.
• Troubleshoot electrical issues using schematics, meters, CAN tools, and other diagnostics.
• Coordinate design changes with Mechanical, Manufacturing, Quality, and Service teams.
• Support prototype and production vehicle builds at the Elkhart facility.

Skills

Schematics reading

CAN/LIN

Troubleshooting

Documentation

Teamwork

Education

Bachelors in Electrical Eng

Tools

CATIA Electrical

Capital

Zuken

AutoCAD Electrical

3D CAD harnessing

Job description

Position Summary

Optimal EV is seeking an E/E Electrical System and Harness Engineer based in Elkhart, Indiana to support the design, development, integration, and production launch of vehicle wiring harnesses and electrical systems for electric commercial vehicles.

This role will work closely with Engineering, Production, body builders, suppliers, and Controls teams to ensure harness designs are practical, manufacturable, serviceable, and correctly integrated into the vehicle. The position will have a strong hands-on focus and will support vehicle builds directly at the Elkhart production/body integration site.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and maintain:
• Wiring diagrams and schematics
• Harness drawings
• Connector and pinout definitions
• Wire sizing and circuit protection requirements
• Harness routing and mounting documentation
• Electrical BOMs and release documentation
• Design and develop vehicle low-voltage wiring harnesses and electrical interfaces.
• Troubleshoot electrical issues using schematics, multimeters, CAN tools, and other diagnostic equipment.

• Support root-cause analysis of production, field, and service electrical issues.

• Work directly with body builders and production teams to resolve harness routing, installation, packaging, and interface issues.

• Support prototype and production vehicle builds at the Elkhart facility.

• Support electrical architecture development for current and future vehicle platforms.
• Develop modular and reusable harness designs across multiple vehicle configurations where practical.
• Define electrical interfaces between chassis, body, controls, charging, and auxiliary systems.
• Integrate components including:
• VCUs and body controllers
• Battery and high-voltage interface systems
• Inverters and motors
• EVCC and charging systems
• DC/DC converters
• Thermal systems
• Smart PDUs
• Lighting and body systems
• Sensors and actuators
• Support CAN and LIN network integration.
• Work with harness suppliers to review designs, prototypes, tooling, and production readiness.
• Coordinate electrical design changes with Mechanical, Controls, Manufacturing, Quality, and Service teams.
• Support engineering change and release processes.
• Improve harness installation time, serviceability, standardization, and production quality.
• Be willing to travel to Plymouth, customer sites, suppliers, and other production locations as needed.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, Automotive Engineering, or related field.
• Experience with automotive wiring harness design or vehicle electrical systems.
• Ability to read and create electrical schematics and wiring diagrams.
• Understanding of:
• Automotive connectors
• Wire sizing
• Fuses and relays
• Grounding
• Circuit protection
• Power distribution
• Familiarity with CAN communication and vehicle networks.
• Hands-on vehicle electrical troubleshooting experience.
• Ability to work directly with production technicians and engineering teams.
• Strong problem-solving and documentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with commercial vehicles, buses, specialty vehicles, or electric vehicles.
• Experience using CATIA Electrical, Capital, Zuken, AutoCAD Electrical, or similar electrical/harness design tools.
• Experience with harness routing and packaging in a 3D CAD environment.
• Knowledge of high-voltage EV systems.
• Experience with CAN/LIN network architecture.
• Knowledge of EMI/EMC and automotive grounding practices.
• Experience working with wiring harness suppliers.
• Familiarity with engineering release, BOM, and ECN processes.
• Experience supporting low-volume or prototype vehicle production.

Work Location

Elkhart, Indiana

This is primarily an onsite, hands-on engineering role supporting vehicle body integration, harness installation, production, and troubleshooting.

What Success Looks Like

• Harness designs are released before vehicle builds require them.
• Electrical interfaces between the chassis and body are clearly defined and standardized.
• Production teams can install harnesses consistently with minimal rework.
• Electrical issues are identified and resolved quickly during prototype and production builds.
• Harness designs become increasingly modular and reusable across vehicle platforms.
• Engineering changes are properly documented and incorporated into production.

About us:

Optimal Inc operates through two specialized divisions: Optimal EV & Optimal Staffing.

Our electric vehicle division, Optimal EV, specializes in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of zero-emission, low-floor electric shuttle buses and advanced mobility solutions. We proudly design, engineer, and manufacture our vehicles in the United States, with our engineering and research center located in Plymouth and our manufacturing facility in Elkhart.

Through Optimal Staffing, we are a trusted partner to major automakers-including Ford Motor Company, Stellantis, and General Motors-as well as numerous OEMs and tiered component suppliers across the automotive industry, delivering high-quality workforce solutions and industry expertise.

Headquartered in Michigan, Optimal Inc. has been providing staffing services since 1986.