Harness Design Engineer I

Rocket Lab USA; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Harness Design Engineer I to design electrical harnesses for spacecraft, organize interfaces, select components, and generate design documentation to pass to our spacecraft engineering team for accurate CAD models. You will assist in avionics circuit design, analysis, prototyping and testing.

You’ll work in multi-disciplinary teams on electronic assemblies for satellite and spacecraft programs, contribute to test plans, and help ensure reliability and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, or electrical engineering.
• Experience with electrical engineering or avionics.
• US citizenship is required.

Responsibilities

• Perform harness layout and connector/back shell selection for spacecraft.
• Generate pinout tables for harness connectors based on interconnect diagrams.
• Maintain BOMs for harnessing in the PLM system.
• Create documentation for electrical schematics and harness designs.
• Develop test plans for avionics subsystems and components.
• Analyze and optimize spacecraft avionics circuits for performance and reliability.
• Participate in design reviews representing the avionics electrical engineering team.

Skills

Electrical engineering

Avionics

Power electronics

Education

Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, or electrical engineering

Tools

LT Spice

Altium

Siemens Teamcenter

JAMA

Job description

Rocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity’s reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine. Come shape the future with us.

SPACE SYSTEMS

At Rocket Lab, we’re not just launching rockets — we're building the future of space. Our Space Systems team builds everything from complete spacecraft, precision payloads to the components and subsystems that allow them to thrive in space, like solar panels, flight software, star trackers, optical systems, separation systems, radios, and more.

Our Space Systems team has enabled more than 1,700 missions, ranging from interplanetary exploration, in-space manufacturing to national security and defense initiatives. The team has built spacecraft, payloads, and components for missions to the Moon and Mars, working with partners including NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force. Whether it’s a single high-performance spacecraft, constellation, or the vertically integrated components that help them get to space — our world class Space Systems team is empowering some of the boldest and most ambitious space missions.

HARNESS DESIGN ENGINEER I

Based out of Rocket Lab's global headquarters in Long Beach, CA, the Harness Design Engineer I will primarily work on design of electrical harnesses for our spacecraft, including organizing interfaces, selecting components, specifying split locations and lengths, and generating design documentation to pass to our spacecraft engineering team to allow accurate CAD models to be made. Since this role will have heavy involvement in electronics, you will also get to assist in the execution of electrical engineering activities for our spacecraft and space systems components. This includes assisting our avionics designers with circuit design, analysis, prototyping and testing.

WHAT YOU’LL GET TO DO:

• Perform or support design tasks such as harness layout, connector and back shell selection, wire selection, and shielding for our spacecraft.
• Generate pinout tables for harness connectors at both ends of the assembly based on spacecraft interconnect diagrams
• Responsible for creating and maintaining BOMs for harnessing in our product lifecycle management (PLM) tool
• Assist in creating documentation for electrical system schematics and harness designs
• Develop test plans and procedures for avionics subsystems and components
• Perform analysis and evaluations to optimize spacecraft avionics circuits for performance, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Participate in internal design and customer facing review meetings as a representative of the avionics electrical engineering team.
• Work in multi-disciplinary teams to assist in design of electronic assemblies for our satellite and spacecraft programs

QUALIFICATIONS YOU’LL BRING AS HARNESS DESIGN ENGINEER I:

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, or electrical engineering; or other engineering degree
• Experience with electrical engineering or avionics
• US citizenship is required, due to program requirements

THESE QUALIFICATIONS WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE:

• Master’s or PhD in aerospace, mechanical, or electrical engineering; or other engineering degree
• Experience in the aerospace/defense industry
• Experience supporting satellite development programs and satellite operations
• Thorough understanding of the space environment, orbital mechanics, and rigid body dynamics
• Experience with LT Spice, Altium, and/or Siemens software suite (i.e. Teamcenter)
• Experience with requirement management tools such as JAMA
• Experience with testing electrical subsystems and assemblies, thermal vacuum or random vibration, and hardware-in-the loop (HITL) testing
• Proficiency in electronics principles and electrical systems, including power electronics, communication systems (e.g. RS-422, SPI, Ethernet, CAN bus), signal integrity, and grounding
• Proficiency with instrumentation, interfaces, and sensors, including power supplies, oscilloscopes, serial devices, accelerometers, thermocouples, RTDs, and 4-20mA sensors
• Ability to work in a dynamic environment with competing priorities

This position may require prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, computer work, and occasional exposure to moderate