Sr. Hardware Design Engineer

ASTEMO AMERICAS, INC.; Harrodsburg (KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

ASTEMO AMERICAS, INC. is seeking a Senior Hardware Engineer to drive electrical design for automotive ECUs including transfer case, suspension, and BMS units.

You will lead proposals, collaborate across disciplines, and mentor engineers while ensuring design quality and reliability. The role requires deep experience in automotive hardware, power electronics, and interfaces like CAN/SPI/SENT, with strong communication and customer-facing skills.

Qualifications

• Strong electrical design experience for automotive ECUs and 12V systems.
• Experience with CAN/SPI/SENT communication interfaces.
• Background in power electronics, thermal modeling, and DFMEA.
• Ability to mentor teammates and communicate with customers.

Responsibilities

• Lead electrical design responses for new business by creating concepts.
• Collaborate with mechanical, system, production, and software teams on proposals.
• Engage suppliers to identify cost-optimized solutions for designs.
• Support hardware design from concept through production and ensure quality.
• Represent hardware team to customers and internal groups on status & proposals.
• Communicate status, risks, and issues to leadership and customers.
• Support design reviews and drive action item resolutions.
• Define hardware requirements with traceability from spec to implementation.
• Work with manufacturing for production-readiness and DFMs.

Skills

Electrical design

CAN/SPI/SENT

Power electronics

Thermal analysis

DFMEA

BMS integration

Leadership

English fluency

Education

BS Electrical Engineering

Job description

Company Name

Company Name: ASTEMO AMERICAS, INC.

Job Family

Engineering

Job Description

General Responsibilities: The Senior Hardware Engineer is responsible for supporting and advising hardware design and development of a transfer case, suspension, or BMS electronic control units (ECUs) through all phases of the automotive product lifecycle. This role will primarily be responsible for responding to new business quotations and advanced development for transfer case, suspension, or BMS control units. The ideal candidate brings strong experience in automotive ECU development, and excellent communication and customer-facing skills to drive technical excellence and customer satisfaction, as well as providing mentorship to less experienced engineers.

Job Responsibilities

• Lead the electrical design response to new business opportunities by creating an electrical concept either with clean sheet design or a modification of an existing / advanced development design.
• Collaborate with the mechanical engineering team, system engineering team, production team, and software team to create a complete design proposal.
• Work with electrical component suppliers to understand possible solutions for clean sheet design or modifications to existing or advanced development designs. This includes understanding directional cost to achieve a cost optimized solution.
• Support hardware design and development of electronic control units from concept through production, ensuring compliance with automotive quality and reliability standards.
• Serve as a technical representative of the electrical hardware team to the customer or internal groups to present design status, technical proposals, and issue resolutions.
• Communicate hardware status, risks, and issues to both internal leadership, program management, and the customer in a timely and transparent manner.
• Support design reviews (e.g., 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 ensure hardware designs are production-ready, supporting DFM reviews, build support, and the smooth transition from prototype through series production.

Desired Knowledge / Skills

• Strong electrical design knowledge in the context of 12V automotive systems, including power distribution, signal conditioning, protection circuitry, and grounding strategies.
• Familiarity with power electronics topologies including 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, including input filtering, reference voltage considerations, and signal scaling for sensor measurement applications.
• Familiarity with digital communication interfaces such as CAN, SPI, and SENT.
• Experience collaborating with simulation teams on power dissipation analysis, thermal modeling, and FEA to validate hardware designs meet thermal and reliability requirements.
• Understanding of hardware reliability and validation testing methods, including environmental stress testing and qualification testing, as well as experience defining functional tester requirements to support design verification and production readiness.
• Familiarity with driveline control systems (transfer case, suspension) and an understanding of how these subsystems integrate and function within the broader vehicle architecture.
• Familiarity with battery management systems (BMS) and an understanding of how these subsystems integrate and function within the broader vehicle architecture.
• Familiarity with ASPICE 4.0 hardware engineering (HWE) design concepts and process requirements.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks, priorities, and deliverables across concurrent projects.
• Fluent in English, both written and verbal communication.

Education Requirements

(Preferred) BS Electrical Engineering Related 5-year technical degree with equivalent industry experience.

Experience Requirements

5-7 years of experience in automotive ECU design and development environment (Preferred) 3+ years of experience in driveline control or suspension control or BMS design.

Working Conditions

• Physical Demands: Required to sit or stand for long periods in an industrial lab environment. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Dexterity of hands, fingers, and wrists to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, and other computer components.
• Travel: Domestic and international may be required as needed up to 10%. The candidate will occasionally need to travel to multiple global locations to support project development.
• Work Environment: Some amount of working remotely is allowed but the candidate must be physically present in the office/lab when duties dictate the need.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, identity, disability, protected veteran status and national origin.

At Astemo, we’re challenging the status quo with the power of diversity, inclusion, and collaboration. Our goal is to build an inclusive work environment that celebrates the differences of our employees. We want to ensure that every employee feels valued, respected and empowered. We don’t just accept difference—we celebrate it, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our products, and our community. Astemo is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job at Astemo, please send the nature of the request and contact information to [e-mail] when applying for the position.

At Astemo, innovation drives our passion for excellence. As a global leader in the mobility sector, we are dedicated to shaping the future through advanced technology, sustainable practices and a commitment to empowering our diverse team of talented individuals. We believe that our greatest asset is our people. With a rich legacy of pioneering breakthroughs and forward-thinking mindset, we continuously seek exceptional individuals who share our vision and ambition to redefine the mobility industry.

As you explore our website, we invite you to discover exciting career opportunities across various disciplines and regions. Whether you are an experienced professional or new graduate, there is a place for you to thrive and make a meaningful impact within our dynamic global community. Join us in driving innovation, shaping the future and unlocking new possibilities in the mobility industry. Your journey begins here at Astemo.

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