Lead Electrical Systems Engineer – Life Science Instruments

Planet Pharma; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 96,000 - 158,000; Full time

Job summary

Planet Pharma in Menlo Park, CA is seeking an experienced Electrical Engineer to build, bring up, and troubleshoot the electrical system architecture of complex life science instruments.

This hands-on role covers system architecture, board-level electronics, power and signal distribution, cabling, and harnessing, collaborating with firmware, software, manufacturing, and quality teams to deliver robust instrument designs.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a minimum of 7–10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; OR 5–8 years with a Master’s; OR 3–7 years with a PhD.
• Strong hands-on experience with schematic capture and PCB design/layout using Altium, Cadence, or similar professional EDA tools.
• Past experience incorporating communication protocols such as USB, CAN, or EtherCAT.
• Experience with PCB layout, component selection, fabrication, assembly, and production release.
• Demonstrated strength in cable and harness architecture, design, and sourcing.
• Strong lab/troubleshooting skills with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, DMMs, power supplies.
• Excellent interpersonal and written/verbal communication skills for cross‑functional work.

Responsibilities

• Define, design, document, prototype, and validate cables and wire harnesses, including connector selection, pinouts, wire and shielding requirements.
• Read and understand mixed-signal boards with embedded processors, high-speed interfaces, FPGAs, power electronics, and sensors.
• Collaborate with firmware, software, sequencing, consumables, mechanical, optical, and quality teams to define interfaces.
• Lead system-level troubleshooting and root-cause investigations; implement design improvements for reliability and manufacturability.
• Own electrical performance margins: power integrity, grounding, shielding, noise, EMI/EMC, timing, thermal loading.

Skills

Electrical system design

System-level troubleshooting

Cross-functional collaboration

Regulatory & safety compliance

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

PhD in a relevant field

Tools

Altium Designer

Cadence

Oscilloscope & test equipment

Job description

Planet Pharma in Menlo Park, CA is seeking an experienced Electrical Engineer to build, bring up, and troubleshoot the electrical system architecture of complex life science instruments.

This hands-on role covers system architecture, board-level electronics, power and signal distribution, cabling, and harnessing, collaborating with firmware, software, manufacturing, and quality teams to deliver robust instrument designs.