Lead Electrical Systems Engineer - Defense Vehicles

General Motors LLC; United States; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

GM Defense is seeking an Electrical System Engineer to define and integrate electrical systems for government programs and special projects. You will translate requirements into vehicle‑level electrical solutions spanning high- and low‑voltage power distribution, interfaces, wiring, and subsystems.

You’ll work with cross‑functional teams to ensure compliant, safe, and effective designs. Responsibilities include leading architecture definition, developing schematics and interfaces, and evaluating

Qualifications

• BS in Electrical/Mechanical/Systems Engineering or related discipline.
• 5+ years of relevant experience in electrical systems, vehicle electrical engineering, controls, harnesses, power distribution, embedded systems, or a related field.
• Experience with high‑voltage and/or electrified vehicle systems, including power distribution, interfaces, cables, protection, grounding, and safety.
• Experience developing or reviewing electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, interface documents, or system block diagrams.
• Working knowledge of vehicle communications and networked systems, such as CAN, CAN‑FD, LIN, or Ethernet.
• Strong problem‑solving, technical writing, presentation, and cross‑functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead electrical architecture definition for new and derivative defense vehicle platforms.
• Translate government, customer, mission, and vehicle requirements into electrical system requirements, architecture decisions, and interface definitions.
• Define vehicle‑level electrical topologies, power distribution, network architecture, system boundaries, and low‑voltage power‑management concepts.
• Architect and integrate high‑voltage systems, including batteries, power conversion, propulsion interfaces, high‑voltage cables, contactors, service disconnects, grounding, shielding, and safety features.
• Define interfaces among ECUs, sensors, actuators, power electronics, controllers, displays, communication networks, and mission equipment.
• Define low‑voltage power distribution, circuit protection, wake‑up and shutdown behavior, grounding, connector strategy, and electrical load‑management concepts.
• Develop and review schematics, wiring concepts, interface control documents, netlists, block diagrams, and architecture specifications.
• Evaluate COTS and custom technologies, balancing technical performance, mission suitability, supply risk, integration complexity, cost, and schedule.
• Identify and resolve cross‑functional electrical issues, including interface conflicts, power‑quality concerns, EMC risks, network limitations, thermal constraints, and packaging conflicts.
• Ensure architecture decisions support automotive, defense, functional‑safety, cybersecurity, EMC, and export‑control requirements.
• Support proposals, statements of work, technical volumes, compliance matrices, and customer presentations while providing technical leadership.

Skills

Electrical systems

High‑voltage systems

CAN/CAN‑FD/Ethernet networks

Systems thinking

Cross‑functional collaboration

Technical writing

Problem solving

Motor vehicle operation knowledge

Education

BS in Electrical/Mechanical/Systems Engineering or related

Tools

INCA

Vspy

Simulink

Capital Tools

Job description

GM Defense is seeking an Electrical System Engineer to define and integrate electrical systems for government programs and special projects. You will translate requirements into vehicle‑level electrical solutions spanning high- and low‑voltage power distribution, interfaces, wiring, and subsystems.

You’ll work with cross‑functional teams to ensure compliant, safe, and effective designs. Responsibilities include leading architecture definition, developing schematics and interfaces, and evaluating