Sustaining Engineer

Motive Holding Companies LLC; Fountain Valley (CA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A technology company in California is seeking a Sustaining Production and Service Electrical Engineer to act as a technical liaison between engineering and manufacturing. This role requires hands-on troubleshooting of electrical systems and collaboration across teams to support product lifecycle. The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and approximately 2+ years of relevant experience. Responsibilities include managing production issues, training staff, and supporting Engineering Change Orders. Travel may be required.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in sustaining engineering or production support roles.
• Experience supporting electronics in manufacturing or service environments.
• Familiarity with failure analysis and ECO processes required.

Responsibilities

• Act as a technical liaison across various teams.
• Troubleshoot production issues and implement improvements.
• Train operators and technicians on products and processes.
• Support Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) and manage documentation.

Skills

Hands-on troubleshooting of analog and digital systems

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication of technical issues

Detail-oriented approach to documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Digital multimeters

Issue tracking tools (e.g., Jira)

PLM and ERP systems (e.g., SAP)

Job description

The Sustaining Production and Service Electrical Engineer serves as a key technical liaison between Engineering, Manufacturing, Service, Vendors, and Customers, supporting released products throughout their lifecycle. This role focuses on enabling production and service teams through training, documentation, and hands-on technical support, while ensuring clear communication and alignment across internal teams and external partners. The engineer works closely with design engineers, technicians, contract manufacturers, and suppliers to support production, resolve technical issues, and implement continuous product improvements. Responsibilities also include supporting customer inquiries and training, driving corrective actions based on field and production feedback, and ensuring changes are properly documented and released. Travel to manufacturing sites and customer locations of up to 40% may be required.

Technical Expertise

• Acts as a technical bridge between engineering, manufacturing, service, vendors, and customers, ensuring alignment and timely resolution of issues.
• Hands-on troubleshooting of analog, digital, and power electronics systems in production, service, and field environments.
• Supports manufacturing and service teams by diagnosing test failures, yield issues, and field-reported problems.
• Performs failure analysis and root-cause investigation down to the component level using structuredli>
• Implements and tracks corrective and preventive actions, including hardware, process, and documentation improvements.
• Supports Engineering Change Orders (ECOs/ECNs), including schematic updates, BOM changes, and component obsolescence resolution, in collaboration with the engineering team.
• Responds to and manages Engineering Field Requests (EFRs) originating from service teams and customers.
• Develops and maintains troubleshooting guides, work instructions, and service procedures.
• Trains manufacturing operators, service technicians, and customers on products, processes, and corrective actions.
• Interfaces with contract manufacturers (CMs), suppliers, and vendors to support production issues, component changes, and quality improvements.
• Supports the New Product Introduction (NPI) process by assisting with production ramp, end-of-line test readiness, end-of-line testing, and service documentation.
• Familiarity with wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi and cellular is desired but not required.
• Experience with battery chargers for Material Handling Equipment (MHE), or GSE (Ground Support Equipment) is preferred but not required.
• Test & Measurement Equipment: Proficient in the use of oscilloscopes, digital multimeters, power supplies, electronic loads, function generators, logic analyzers, and related laboratory equipment for debugging and validation.
• Design Interpretation: Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, PCB layouts, wiring diagrams, and mechanical drawings, and to correlate documentation with physical hardware.
• Manufacturing & Lifecycle Systems: Familiarity with product lifecycle collaboration tools such as PLM and ERP systems (Arena, SAP or similar) including BOMs, revisions, and change tracking.
• Issue Tracking & Documentation: Experience using issue tracking and collaboration tools (e.g., Jira or similar) to manage issues, actions, and cross-functional communication (Confluence, Notion or similar).
• Firmware Interaction: Working familiarity with embedded systems sufficient to program boards, load firmware, perform basic configuration, and interface effectively with firmware engineers for troubleshooting and validation (firmware development not required).
• Communications & Interfaces: Working familiarity with common wired communication interfaces and protocols such as CAN, RS-485/RS-422, UART/serial, SPI, I²C, and USB, as well as wireless technologies including Wi-Fi and cellular, sufficient to support diagnostics, manufacturing test, service troubleshooting, and coordination with firmware teams.

Skills

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Works effectively with engineers, technicians, manufacturing, service, quality, vendors, and customers.
• Communicates technical issues clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Execution & Ownership

• Manages multiple issues in parallel while maintaining clear prioritization.Takes ownership of issues from discovery through resolution and closure.Strong written and verbal communication skills.Detail-oriented, methodical, and disciplined approach to troubleshooting and documentation.

Comfortable working independently within established processes and engineering guidance.

Education/ Training

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a related field.

Experience

• Approximately 2+ years of relevant experience in sustaining engineering, production support, test engineering, or product support roles.
• Experience supporting electronics in a manufacturing or service environment.Exposure to ECOs, failure analysis, and cross-functional engineering processes.