Senior Electrical & Hardware Systems Engineer

Stem IT; Austin (TX); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Full-time Direct Hire

Healthcare options

Retirement matching plans

Yearly bonus opportunities

Ownership & growth within startup

Job summary

Stem IT in Austin, TX, seeks a Senior Electrical & Hardware Systems Engineer to own electrical hardware development from architecture to production, with a hands-on lab focus and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

The role emphasizes lab debugging, system validation, fixture development, and manufacturing test for a robotics/autonomous platforms startup, with hybrid work in a fast-growing environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field
• 5+ years hands-on experience in electrical engineering, hardware systems, embedded hardware, product development, or hardware test
• Schematic design/review, PCB/PCBA development, component selection, board bring-up, and board-level debugging
• Power electronics, power distribution, DC/DC conversion, input protection, or other embedded electrical systems
• Oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, multimeters, JTAG/SWD, function generators, or similar lab equipment
• Troubleshooting across hardware, firmware, embedded software, and system-level interfaces
• C/C++ and/or Python for embedded development, hardware diagnostics, test automation, or engineering tools
• Developing test fixtures, automated test systems, functional testers, or end-of-line/manufacturing test stations
• Hardware validation and qualification plans, test data analysis, root-cause analysis
• Hardware through prototype, bring-up, validation, NPI, and production/HVM
• DFM/DFT, SPC, Gauge R&R

Skills

Schematic design/review

PCB/PCBA development

Power electronics

Lab equipment testing

Hardware- firmware debugging

C/C++ and Python

Test fixtures

Root-cause analysis

NPI & Production

Prototype bring-up

FD/DFM/DFT

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field

Tools

Altium

Job description

Robotics startup building next-generation satellite-resilient positioning technology for autonomous vehicles and UGVs in Austin, Texas (hybrid) is looking to add a Senior Electrical & Hardware Systems Engineer to the team. The ideal engineer will sit at the intersection of electrical hardware, embedded systems, and product engineering, taking a highly hands‑on approach to solving real‑world engineering problems.

This person will help drive products from electrical architecture, schematic and PCB development through prototype/PCBA bring-up, system validation, manufacturing test, NPI, and production. The role is ideal for an engineer who enjoys getting into the lab, designing and debugging hardware, troubleshooting complex failures across hardware and firmware, building test systems, and determining how to reliably scale a product into manufacturing.

Preferred Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field
• 5+ years of hands‑on experience in electrical engineering, hardware systems, embedded hardware, product development, or hardware test
• Strong experience with schematic design/review, PCB/PCBA development, component selection, board bring‑up, and board‑level debugging
• Hands‑on experience designing, debugging, or validating power electronics, power distribution, DC/DC conversion, input protection, or other embedded electrical systems
• Experience using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, multimeters, JTAG/SWD, function generators, or similar laboratory equipment
• Experience troubleshooting complex issues across electrical hardware, firmware, embedded software, and system‑level interfaces
• Experience with C/C++ and/or Python for embedded development, hardware diagnostics, test automation, or engineering tools
• Experience developing test fixtures, automated test systems, functional testers, or end‑of‑line/manufacturing test stations
• Ability to develop and execute hardware validation and qualification plans, analyze test data, identify failure modes, and perform structured root‑cause analysis
• Experience taking hardware products through prototype, bring‑up, validation, NPI, and production/HVM
• Experience improving manufacturing quality through test coverage, yield analysis, failure analysis, DFM/DFT, SPC, or Gauge R&R (GR&R)
• Strong understanding of how to distinguish between a hardware/design failure, component issue, firmware/software issue, and test‑system or fixture failure

Nice to Have:

• Experience with robotics, UGVs, autonomous vehicles, automotive systems, or other electromechanical platforms
• Experience with ROS2, embedded Linux, CAN bus, vehicle communications, or sensor integration
• Experience integrating sensors, compute platforms, embedded controllers, firmware, and software into complete working systems
• Experience designing or prototyping ruggedized embedded or compute platforms
• Experience with automotive, military, aerospace, or other challenging power/transient environments
• Familiarity with environmental, EMC/EMI, vibration, shock, thermal, or ingress qualification
• Experience supporting defense, government, automotive, aerospace, or other mission‑critical applications
• Experience with Altium or other professional PCB design tools
• Familiarity with data analysis tools and AI/LLM-assisted engineering and development tools
• Experience in an early‑stage startup or other environment requiring significant hands‑on ownership and the ability to work across disciplines

Package:

• Full-time Direct Hire with competitive benefits
• Multiple healthcare options
• Employee retirement matching plans
• Yearly bonus opportunities
• Significant ownership and growth opportunity within a rapidly scaling startup