Principal Design Engineer

bakerhughes; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Baker Hughes in Houston, TX is seeking a Principal Design Engineer with deep electro‑mechanical system expertise. You will lead hardware development from concept to production, shaping system architecture and hardware strategies for demanding downhole environments.

The role requires 15+ years in electronic hardware development, strong analog/digital design skills, power electronics, and collaboration with firmware teams. Expect technical leadership and rigorous design reviews.

Qualifications

• Minimum 15 years hands-on product development experience with electro-mechanical systems.
• Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering required from an accredited university.
• Proven experience leading complete hardware development lifecycles from concept to production.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of complex electro-mechanical systems from concept through production release.
• Define system architecture, hardware requirements, interface specs, and design strategies.
• Perform tradeoff analysis to meet performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost goals.
• Collaborate with contract manufacturers and suppliers.
• Develop and maintain hardware design standards and best practices.
• Design, analyze, and validate power electronic circuits.
• Support embedded firmware teams in HW/SW integration.
• Create and execute validation and qualification plans.
• Perform hardware debugging and root cause analysis.
• Support design verification, EMC and environmental testing, and regulatory certification activities.
• Lead technical reviews and engineering design reviews.
• Mentor junior engineers and prepare technical reports for leadership.

Skills

Analog circuit design

Digital circuit design

PCB layout

MCUs/DSPs/FPGAs

Embedded hardware

Power electronics

Networking interfaces

Altium

Education

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium

SolidWorks

FEA

Job description

Principal Design Engineer

Do you enjoy working with complex electro-mechanical systems? Do you have experience defining system architecture and design strategies?

Join our Baker Hughes - OFSE - CIM - CWI Engineering & Technology organization and Partner with the Best!

Baker Hughes Incorporated has an opening for a Principal Design Engineer in Houston, TX. As a leader in the oilfield services industry, Baker Hughes offers opportunities for qualified people who want to grow in our high-performance organization. Our leading technologies and our ability to apply them safely and effectively create value for our customers and our shareholders. Baker Hughes is an Equal Employment Aff...

About this job

We are seeking a highly experienced principal Design Engineer with a minimum of 15 years of hands‑on product development experience with electro‑mechanical systems. The successful candidate will be responsible for leading the complete hardware development lifecycle from concept through production for advanced electronic products operating in demanding oil and gas permanent completions.

This role requires deep technical expertise, particularly in electronic design; analog signal conditioning, digital electronics, and embedded hardware design. The engineer will collaborate with mechanical engineers on the teams to develop robust electro‑mechanical solutions for harsh downhole environments.

• Leading the design and development of complex electro‑mechanical systems from concept through production release.
• Defining system architecture, hardware requirements, interface specifications, and design strategies.
• Performing tradeoff analysis and component selection to meet performance, reliability, manufacturability, and cost objectives.
• Working closely with contract manufacturers and suppliers.
• Developing and maintaining hardware design standards and best practices.
• Designing, analyzing, and validating advanced power electronic circuits.
• Supporting embedded firmware teams in hardware/software integration activities.
• Creating comprehensive validation and qualification plans.
• Performing hardware debugging and root cause analysis.
• Supporting design verification, EMC testing, environmental testing, and regulatory certification activities.
• Leading technical reviews and engineering design reviews.
• Mentoring and guiding junior engineers and designers.
• Preparing and presenting technical reports and design review materials to engineering leadership and stakeholders.
• Contributing to engineering standards, design methodologies, and long‑term technology roadmaps.

Fuel your passion

To be successful in this role you will:

• Have a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from an accredited university.
• Have 15 years of industry experience in electronic hardware development.
• Display proven experience in electronic product development programs from concept through production.
• Show strong expertise in analog and digital circuit design, power electronics and multilayer PCB layout.
• Have hands‑on experience with microcontrollers, DSPs, FPGAs, Communication interfaces (Ethernet, SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, RS‑485, USB)
• Display proficiency in the use of PCB layout packages such as Altium.

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with SolidWorks 3D CAD system.
• Experience with FEA (finite element analysis).
• Experience with product design including stress calculations, tolerances studies.
• Familiarity with qualification testing and test fixture design and API standards.
• Knowledge of manufacturing processes/design for manufacturability.

Work in a way that works for you

We recognize that everyone is different and that the way in which people want to work and deliver at their best is different for everyone.

Working with us

Our people are at the heart of what we do at Baker Hughes. We know we are better when all of our people are developed, engaged and able to bring their whole authentic selves to work. We invest in the health and well‑being of our workforce, train and reward talent and develop leaders at all levels to bring out the best in each other.

Working for you

Our inventions have revolutionized energy for over a century. But to keep going forward tomorrow, we know we have to push the boundaries today. We prioritize rewarding those who embrace change with a package that reflects how much we value their input.

Join us, and you can expect

• Contemporary work‑life balance policies and wellbeing activities
• Comprehensive private medical care options
• Safety net of life insurance and disability programs
• Tailored financial programs
• Additional elected or voluntary benefits

You will be eligible to participate in Company-sponsored benefit programs, including health & welfare programs and the Thrift Plan (401k). You will have a choice of coverage options that best suit your needs. Coverage options and contribution amounts are related to your benefit elections, base salary level, an