Staff Powertrain Engineer (Advanced Engineering)

ArcTern Ventures; Garden Grove (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive Health, Dental & Vision

Early-stage Stock Options

401k & Savings plans

Paid Time Off & Parental Leave

Vacation Bonus

Wellness & Fertility Benefits

Cell Phone Stipend

Complimentary Meals

Job summary

Harbinger, based in Garden Grove, seeks a Staff Powertrain Engineer to lead powertrain development from concept to production. You will oversee EDUs, Gen-sets, and ICE, while guiding cross-functional teams and setting design standards.

The role requires extensive mechanical design experience, CATIA CAD proficiency, and strong communication skills to interface with engineering and manufacturing teams. This is a hands-on leadership position in a fast‑growing EV company.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering or similar is required.
• Experience owning multiple powertrain systems from concept through full life in automotive environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of key Powertrain systems such as EDUs, Gen-sets, and ICE.
• Break down complex technical challenges into components and mentor junior engineers.
• Set standards and best practices for FEAs, design guidelines and hand calculations.
• Support clean-sheet projects and create novel solutions from first principles and benchmarking.
• Collaborate with technicians and suppliers to build prototypes for validation.
• Communicate complex technical information to diverse audiences.

Skills

Powertrain design

EDU/ICE experience

3D CAD (CATIA)

FEA/thermals

Cross-functional leadership

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

CATIA CAD

FEA software

Job description

About Harbinger

Harbinger is an American commercial electric vehicle (EV) company on a mission to transform an industry starving for innovation. Harbinger’s best-in-class team of EV, battery, and drivetrain experts have pooled their deep experience to bring a first-of-its-kind EV platform to support the growing demand for medium-duty EVs and Hybrids. Harbinger: Familiar Form, Revolutionary Foundation.

Job Overview

Based out of our Garden Grove headquarters, the Staff Powertrain Engineer serves as a domain leader and technical authority responsible for driving powertrain development from advanced concepts through production launch and full product life. They will have deep knowledge in Electric Drive Units (EDUs) and Internal Combustion (IC) engines. This role requires complete mastery of powertrain engineering disciplines (design, analysis, and validation) alongside broad working knowledge of low-voltage/high-voltage electrical systems, controls, thermal management, packaging, and manufacturing processes. As a technical lead, you will break down broad, ambiguous powertrain challenges into implementable strategies, define functional standards and project timelines, and guide cross-functional teams to deliver high-performing powertrain solutions.

What You’ll Do:

• Lead the design and development of key Powertrain systems such as Electric Drive Units (EDUs) or Generator Sets (Gen-sets), and Internal Combustion Engines (ICE)
• Break down complex technical challenges into smaller components and support junior engineers in delivering solutions.
• Set standards and create best practices for others to follow in technical tasks (FEA, design guidelines, hand calculations etc)
• Support developing clean-sheet projects, creating novel solutions from first principals, academic research, and industry benchmarking
• Work closely with technicians and suppliers to create prototypes for validation.s
• Take in, process, and communicate complex technical information to a wide audience.

Who You Are:

• Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (or similar) with a minimum of 6 years of relevant industry experience with emphasis on mechanical design.
• A design engineer who has owned multiple powertrain systems from concept through full life in an automotive environment.
• Demonstrated experience in working with Electric Drive Units (EDUs) and Internal Combustion (IC) engines,
• Deep understanding of powertrain manufacturing processes.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD systems (CATIA preferred), FEA (stress analysis, thermal simulations etc) and the design of rotating components.
• A clear communicator, who has a proven record of delivering complex projects with multi-disciplinary teams under tight deadline pressure.

Key Benefits & Perks:

• Comprehensive Health, Dental & Vision (HDV) – 100% employee covered
• Early-stage Stock Options
• Robust Retirement Savings (401k, HSA, FSA)
• Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) & Parental Leave
• Annual Vacation Bonus
• Wellness & Fertility Benefits
• Cell Phone Stipend
• Complimentary Meals & Stocked Kitchens

California Pay Range

$170,000 — $200,000 USD

Equal Opportunity

Harbinger is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Harbinger is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible for persons with disabilities. If you have a disability or limitation, such as those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations to assist you in the search and application process, please email us at [e-mail].

Candidate Data Privacy

Harbinger may collect, use and disclose your personal information or personal data (within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws) when you apply for employment and/or participate in our recruitment processes (“Candidate Personal Data”). This data includes contact, demographic, communications, educational, professional, employment, social media/website, network/device, recruiting system usage/interaction, security and preference information. Harbinger may use your Candidate Personal Data for the purposes of (i) tracking interactions with our recruiting system; (ii) carrying out, analyzing and improving our application and recruitment process, including assessing you and your application and conducting employment, background and reference checks; (iii) establishing an employment relationship or entering into an employment contract with you; (iv) complying with our legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations; (v) recordkeeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.

Harbinger may share your Candidate Personal Data with (i) internal personnel who have a need to know such information in order to perform their duties, including individuals on our HR, legal, and finance teams, and the team(s) with the position(s) for which you are applying; (ii) Harbinger affiliates; and (iii) Harbinger’s service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services.

Harbinger may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union and in the cloud, and this data may be subject to the laws and accessible to the courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of such jurisdictions.

Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third party application services. Any unsolicited resumes or candidate profiles submitted in response to our job posting shall be considered the property of Harbinger and are not subject to payment of referral or placement fees if any such candidate is later hired by Harbinger unless you have a signed written agreement in place with us which covers the applicable job posting.