Title: EWIS / Harness Design Engineer (Contract)
Headcount: 2+
Location: Costa Mesa, CA - full on-site, 5 days/week; no hybrid or remote
Start: ASAP - full on-site; tool-ready and productive quickly
Interview process: ~30-45 minute technical interview with the hiring manager
Security / clearance: Eligible for U.S. security clearance
Why hiring:
Build out the EWIS team for clean-sheet harness design in a fast-change, co-located integrator + harness designer + technician ecosystem.
End product:
- Clean-sheet electrical wire harnesses from integrator inputs and system requirements
- Harness documentation: block/interconnect diagrams, wire diagrams, formboard/production outputs, assembly guidance, and test support artifacts as required
Tech / domain environment:
- Aerospace, defense, and rugged EWIS / harness design practices
- Siemens Capital Logic (2D), Siemens Capital Harness (3D), and Siemens NX (cabling/routing / related packaging as used by the team)
- Common aerospace interconnects: CAN, Ethernet, RS-422, RS-232, MIL-STD-1553, and similar
- SAE AS50881-class aerospace harness practice (formerly MIL-W-5088 lineage) - solid production judgment over memorizing every MIL-STD
- Fast-change, full-time on-site collaboration with daily vehicle/system changes
- Co-located integrator, harness designer, and technician team
Job duties:
- Perform 3D harness routing and packaging in Siemens Capital Harness and/or Siemens NX
- Drive clean-sheet harness design from integrator inputs through build-ready documentation
- Select and specify connectors, backshells, cables, and related hardware for manufacturing and high-reliability constraints
- Work with technicians on build issues and integrators on change churn
- Support design reviews and keep pace with daily vehicle/system changes
- Coordinate with harness manufacturers and high-reliability build processes
Ideal profile:
Dual-skilled engineer strong in both 2D electrical logic and 3D routing in Siemens Capital, with Siemens NX in a harness/cabling or related packaging context. Dual-skill profiles are preferred and uncommon.
Must haves:
- 3+ years designing electrical wire harnesses for rugged, aerospace, defense, or comparable high-reliability applications in production (not academic/POC-only)
- Hands-on production Siemens Capital experience (Logic 2D and/or Harness 3D - specify which; both strongly preferred)
- Hands-on Siemens NX experience in a harness/cabling or related mechanical packaging context
- Ability to take integrator inputs and own clean-sheet harness design through documentation technicians can build
- Ability to read and produce interconnect, wire block, and wire diagrams
- Working familiarity with common aerospace interconnects (e.g. CAN, Ethernet, RS-422/232, 1553) as they affect harness design
- Working knowledge of aerospace harness design practices and AS50881-class guidance
- Experience with harness manufacturers / high-reliability build processes
- Full-time on-site in Costa Mesa, 5 days/week (no hybrid/remote)
- Eligible for U.S. security clearance
- Already proficient in Capital (and NX as used) - no multi-week tool learning curve; contractor impact expected quickly
Nice to haves:
- Deep dual Capital Harness 3D + NX cabling portfolio on aerospace vehicles or complex platforms
- Formboard and 2D production drawing generation for build
- CATIA or Creo harness exposure in addition to Capital (not a substitute for Capital)
- Connector/cable library ownership or standards-board participation
- Prior contractor success in high-change, co-located hardware teams
- BS in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
- Academic or POC-only harness design with no production harness experience
- No Siemens Capital experience, or Capital so limited that a full tool ramp is required
- 3D CAD-only or mechanical-routing-only background with no electrical/harness logic depth (unless intentionally submitted as the 3D half of a 2D+3D pair)
- CATIA, Creo, or auto-harness-only background with zero Siemens Capital path
- PCB/Altium board design without EWIS/harness tool depth
- Inability or unwillingness to work full-time on-site in Costa Mesa
- Ineligible for U.S. security clearance
- Expectation of remote or hybrid work after a short on-site period