Sr. Hardware Design Engineer

ASTEMO AMERICAS, INC.; Harrodsburg (KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

ASTEMO AMERICAS, INC. is seeking a Senior Hardware Engineer to lead electrical design for 12V automotive ECUs, spanning transfer case, suspension, and BMS electronics. You will guide concepts, validate designs, and align with quality standards.

You will collaborate with mechanical, software, and production teams to deliver robust proposals, perform DFMEA, participate in design verification, and help transition from prototype to production, with some remote work flexibility.

Qualifications

• 5–7 years of automotive ECU design and development experience.
• BS in Electrical Engineering or related field preferred; 5‑year technical degree or equivalent experience.
• Experience with 12V automotive systems and associated hardware reliability.

Responsibilities

• Lead electrical design responses for new business opportunities by creating electrical concepts.
• Collaborate with mechanical, system, production and software teams to deliver complete design proposals.
• Work with suppliers to evaluate cost-optimized solutions for ECUs and hardware components.
• Support hardware design from concept to production, ensuring automotive quality standards are met.
• Represent the electrical hardware team to customers and internal groups, presenting status and proposals.

Skills

Electrical design

Automotive 12V

CAN bus

Power electronics

Thermal analysis

DFMEA

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering

5-year tech degree

Tools

SPICE

Job description

Job Overview

ASTEMO AMERICAS, INC.
Job Family: Engineering
Position: Senior Hardware Engineer – responsible for supporting and advising hardware design and development of transfer case, suspension, or BMS electronic control units (ECUs) throughout the automotive product lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the electrical design response to new business opportunities by creating an electrical concept, either from scratch or by modifying an existing or advanced development design.
• Collaborate with mechanical engineering, system engineering, production, and software teams to produce a complete design proposal.
• Work with electrical component suppliers to evaluate solutions for clean‑sheet or modification designs, focusing on cost‑optimized solutions.
• Support hardware design and development of ECUs from concept through production, ensuring compliance with automotive quality and reliability standards.
• Serve as a technical representative of the electrical hardware team to customers or internal groups, presenting design status, technical proposals, and issue resolutions.
• Communicate hardware status, risks, and issues to internal leadership, program management, and the customer in a timely and transparent manner.
• Support design reviews (schematic reviews, DFMEA, design verification) and drive resolution of action items.
• Contribute to the definition and management of hardware requirements, ensuring traceability from customer specifications through implementation.
• Collaborate with manufacturing teams to make hardware designs production‑ready, supporting DFM reviews, build support, and the transition from prototype to series production.

Desired Knowledge & Skills

• Strong electrical design knowledge in 12V automotive systems, including power distribution, signal conditioning, protection circuitry, and grounding strategies.
• Familiarity with power electronics topologies such as H‑bridge motor drivers, high‑side and low‑side drive circuits, BLDC motor control, buck/boost switching regulators, and linear voltage regulation.
• Basic understanding of ADC signal chains, input filtering, reference voltage considerations, and sensor measurement scaling.
• Knowledge of digital communication interfaces such as CAN, SPI, and SENT.
• Experience collaborating with simulation teams on power dissipation analysis, thermal modeling, and FEA for hardware validation.
• Understanding of hardware reliability and validation testing methods, including environmental stress testing, qualification testing, and functional tester requirements.
• Familiarity with driveline control systems (transfer case, suspension) and battery management systems (BMS) within vehicle architecture.
• Knowledge of ASPICE 4.0 hardware engineering design concepts and process requirements.
• Strong organizational skills for managing multiple tasks, priorities, and deliverables across concurrent projects.
• Fluent in English, with effective written and verbal communication skills.

Education Requirements

Preferred: BS in Electrical Engineering or related field; 5‑year technical degree with equivalent industry experience.

Experience Requirements

5–7 years of experience in automotive ECU design and development. Preferred: 3+ years in driveline control, suspension control, or BMS design.

Working Conditions

• Physical demands: sit or stand for long periods in an industrial lab environment; occasional lifting of up to 50 pounds.
• Travel: Domestic and international travel may be required up to 10% of the time.
• Work environment: Some remote work is allowed, but presence in the office/lab is required for tasks that demand on‑site involvement.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or national origin. Astemo is an equal‑opportunity employer.

Accommodations

For reasonable accommodations, please contact [e-mail] with the nature of the request and your contact information.