Staff Electrical Systems Engineer (Contract)

Planet Pharma; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 96,000 - 138,000; Full time

Job summary

Planet Pharma in Menlo Park, CA is seeking a senior electrical engineer to build, bring up, and troubleshoot the electrical system architecture of complex life science instruments. This hands-on role covers harnessing, board-level electronics, power distribution, and high-speed signaling, working with firmware, software, and manufacturing to deliver robust instrument designs.

You will define cables and wire harnesses, review PCB designs, and lead system-level troubleshooting, focusing on

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or higher in electrical engineering or related field.
• 7–10 years of related experience.
• Experience with schematic capture and PCB design.
• Experience with USB, CAN, EtherCAT.
• Ability to work cross-functionally.
• Experience with regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities

• Define, design, and validate cables and harnesses for production.
• Read and understand mixed-signal boards with FPGAs and power electronics.
• Collaborate with firmware, software, and manufacturing to define interfaces.
• Lead system-level troubleshooting and root-cause investigations.
• Ensure electrical designs meet UL, CE, FCC, FDA and ISO requirements.
• Document PCBA and cable designs for production with DFx.

Skills

Schematic capture

PCB layout

Altium Cadence

High-speed interfaces

Power electronics

Diagnostics

Team communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree

PhD

Tools

Altium

Cadence

Oscilloscope

DMM

Signal integrity testing

Job description

Pay Rate: $70-$100 per hour based on experience level

Role:

Build, bring up, and troubleshoot the electrical system architecture of complex life science instruments. This highly technical, hands‑on role spans system architecture, board‑level electronics, power and signal distribution, cabling and harnessing, while collaborating with firmware, software, manufacturing, new product introduction, quality, and service to deliver robust, reliable, scalable, and production‑ready instrument designs.

Responsibilities

• Define, design, document, prototype, and validate cables and wire harnesses, including connector selection, pinouts, wire and shielding requirements, grounding, signal integrity, mechanical routing constraints, and test requirements. Work with internal technicians and external suppliers to transition cable designs into production.
• Read and understand mixed‑signal circuit boards incorporating embedded processors and microcontrollers, high‑speed digital interfaces, programmable logic (FPGAs), power electronics, motor and actuator drivers, and sensor interfaces.
• Collaborate closely with other teams including firmware, software, sequencing integration, consumables, mechanical, optical, fluidics, thermal, manufacturing, quality, service, and others to define interfaces and deliver fully integrated instrument designs.
• Lead system‑level troubleshooting and root‑cause investigations involving interactions of electrical hardware, firmware, software, mechanical and optical systems, etc. Implement design and process improvements that increase instrument reliability and manufacturability.
• Own and analyze electrical system performance margins, including power integrity, grounding, shielding, noise, ESD, EMI/EMC, high‑speed signal integrity, timing, thermal loading, motor and actuator control, and sensor signal quality across operating conditions and production variation.
• Partner with NPI, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and suppliers to document PCBA and cable designs for production, including component selection and lifecycle management, DFx considerations, manufacturing test strategy, prototype and production builds, and post‑launch issue resolution.
• Ensure electrical designs comply with applicable regulatory, safety, EMC, and environmental requirements, including UL, CE, FCC/EMC, IEC, FDA, and ISO requirements as applicable to laboratory and clinical instrumentation.

Required Qualifications

• Typically requires a minimum of 7-10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or a minimum of 5-8 years of related experience with a Master’s degree; or a minimum of 3-7 years of related experience with a PhD. ?
• Strong hands‑on experience with schematic capture and PCB design/layout using Altium, Cadence, or similar professional EDA tools, including review of multilayer and mixed‑signal PCB designs.
• Past experience incorporating communication protocols and interfaces such as USB, CAN, or EtherCAT in electronic architectures.
• Experience working with suppliers and manufacturing partners on PCB layout, component selection and availability, fabrication, assembly, prototype builds, and production release.
• Demonstrated strength in cable and harness architecture, design, documentation, prototyping, and sourcing.
• Strong laboratory and troubleshooting skills, including experience with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, DMMs, power supplies, or similar electrical test equipment.
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to lead technical discussions and work effectively across engineering and operational organizations.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing life science, medical, diagnostic, semiconductor, robotics, or other complex scientific instruments combining electronics, firmware, software, optics, motion control, fluidics, thermal control, high‑speed electronics, and high‑speed data transmission.
• Experience with high‑speed digital interfaces such as Ethernet, PCIe, USB, DDR, or other multi‑gigabit serial interfaces, including signal‑integrity considerations.
• Experience with precision motion control, motors, encoders, sensors, and electromechanical control systems.
• Experience with EMC/EMI design and troubleshooting, safety certification, and regulatory requirements for laboratory or clinical instrumentation.
• Experience with product lifecycle management (PLM), configuration control, engineering change orders, and formal design documentation in a regulated or quality‑controlled product‑development environment.
• Experience supporting NPI, manufacturing scale‑up, reliability improvement, serviceability, and sustaining engineering for complex products.