Embedded Engineer

Actalent; United States; Hybrid; USD 52,000 - 96,000; Full time

Job summary

Actalent in Vancouver, WA is seeking an Embedded Hardware Engineer to own boards from block diagrams through bring-up on the bench. The role focuses on digital and MCU-based power, interface, interconnect, and breakout boards across multiple projects, with some work for defense customers.

Hybrid work at Vancouver/Portland area. You will design architectures, select parts, manage BOMs, create schematics and layouts in Altium, and guide designs through reviews and revisions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years designing PCBs and PCBAs, owning boards from schematic through layout and bring-up.
• Hands-on Altium Designer, doing both your own schematics and your own board layout.
• Digital circuit design around microcontrollers, including part selection and BOM creation.
• Lab debugging with oscilloscopes, multimeters and logic analyzers.
• Comfort explaining your design choices to customers and in design reviews.
• A BSEE, or work experience that stands in for one.

Responsibilities

• Turn customer requirements into a board architecture, then pick the parts and build the BOM.
• Capture the schematic and do your own layout in Altium.
• Walk your designs through internal and customer reviews and work the revisions.
• Send finished designs out for fab quotes and track the boards through the build.
• Bring up new boards in the lab, probe for mistakes and work with technicians on fine pitch rework.
• Partner with mechanical, firmware and systems engineers to get your boards into the product.
• Give customers and project managers clear updates on where the design stands.

Skills

PCB design

Altium Designer

Digital circuit design

Lab debugging

Customer communication

BSEE or equivalent

Education

BSEE or related experience

Tools

Altium Designer

Job description

EMBEDDED HARDWARE ENGINEER

Vancouver, WA (hybrid)

$38-70/hr

6-Month Contract

-----

About the Role

Youll own circuit boards from the first block diagram to the day they power up on your bench. The team designs hardware for outside customers, so the boards change from project to project and youll see a lot of different work. Most of it is digital and microcontroller based, like power boards, interface boards, interconnect boards and breakout boards, usually 2 to 8 layers. Youll talk with customers in status meetings and design reviews, with engineers and project managers in the room with you. Current projects support defense customers, so you need to be comfortable working in that space.

-----

What Youll Do

• Turn customer requirements into a board architecture, then pick the parts and build the BOM.
• Capture the schematic and do your own layout in Altium.
• Walk your designs through internal and customer reviews and work the revisions.
• Send finished designs out for fab quotes and track the boards through the build.
• Bring up new boards in the lab, probe for mistakes and work with technicians on fine pitch rework.
• Partner with mechanical, firmware and systems engineers to get your boards into the product.
• Give customers and project managers clear updates on where the design stands.

-----

Required Skills

• 5+ years designing PCBs and PCBAs, owning boards from schematic through layout and bring-up.
• Hands-on Altium Designer, doing both your own schematics and your own board layout.
• Digital circuit design around microcontrollers, including part selection and BOM creation.
• Lab debugging with oscilloscopes, multimeters and logic analyzers.
• Comfort explaining your design choices to customers and in design reviews.
• A BSEE, or work experience that stands in for one.

-----

Preferred Skills

• Flex or rigid-flex PCB design.
• FPGA, high-speed digital, or analog and mixed-signal circuit design.
• Designing to military standards like MIL-STD-810, or EMI and EMC compliance testing.

-----

Schedule and Work Environment

This is a hybrid role. Plan on about half your time on-site at the start, then mostly remote with some visits, then more time on-site near the end for bring-up and testing. On-site work happens at the teams office or at customer sites around the Portland and Vancouver metro. Hours are flexible. Must meet ITAR U.S. person requirements. Pre-employment screening is required.

-----

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract position based out of Camas, WA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $38.46 - $69.71/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your jobclassification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may besubject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefitsavailable for this temporary role may include the following:Medical, dental & visionCritical Illness, Accident, and Hospital401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions availableLife Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)Short and long-term disabilityHealth Spending Account (HSA)Transportation benefitsEmployee Assistance ProgramTime Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Nov 13, 2026.

Workplace Type

This is a hybrid position in Camas,WA.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications withoutregard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability,sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protectedby law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification oradjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability,please email [e-mail] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance:

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in thecity and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicantswith arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector:

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as acondition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this lawshall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI):

We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process,including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applicationsand qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, youacknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.