Senior Harness Engineer
Full-time onsite role in the San Francisco Bay Area
Industry: Aerospace / Launch Vehicles & Avionics
Partnering with a space company that’s redefining quick and flexible access to orbit through small rockets and propulsion tech. They focus on systems that enable rapid satellite deployment with minimal fixed infrastructure.
Hiring a Senior Harness Engineer to own the complete electrical harness architecture for the entire launch vehicle. This is a true hybrid role blending mechanical and electrical design: you’ll handle schematic capture for power and data flow while routing everything in 3D space. Expect tight collaboration from day one with structures, propulsion, avionics, and thermal teams to lock in placements and minimize wire runs for weight, cost, and reliability.
You’ll also work directly with payload customers to tailor harness solutions, including deployers for cubesats and other mission-specific needs. This position offers real ownership in a small, agile environment with room to mentor others and grow into leadership as the team expands.
What you’ll do:
- Lead end-to-end harness design from concept through production and flight testing
- Define requirements, routing paths, and space claims alongside mechanical and electrical teams
- Build 3D CAD layouts optimized for weight, build ease, and service access
- Create schematics, wiring diagrams, and full interconnect docs with traceability
- Select connectors, shielding, and grounding strategies while managing EMI
- Reserve routing volume in tight vehicle envelopes with structures engineers
- Adapt harness designs for customer payloads and verify through on-site testing
- Draft manufacturing drawings, build procedures, and test plans
- Support integration, continuity checks, isolation testing, and anomaly resolution
- Guide junior engineers on design, documentation, and test best practices
What you bring:
- 5+ years in harness design from aerospace, automotive, motorsport, or similar high-reliability fields
- Degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics, or equivalent hands-on background
- Strong skills in both electrical schematic tools (AutoCAD Electrical, Zuken, etc.) and 3D CAD (NX, SolidWorks, CATIA)
- Deep knowledge of harness build processes: crimping, splicing, shielding, strain relief
- Familiarity with standards like IPC/WHMA-A-620, NASA-STD-8739, SAE AS22759, J-STD-001
- Experience with EMI/EMC mitigation, grounding, and shielding
- Hands-on testing and troubleshooting on prototype or flight hardware
- Excellent cross-team communication to explain trades and constraints
- Comfort in fast-moving hardware environments with evolving priorities
Nice to have:
- Harness work on launch vehicles, spacecraft, or propulsion systems
- Background from new space companies or high-performance racing teams
- Experience with PLM systems for design control
- Direct supplier collaboration to iterate quickly
- Interest in long-term growth and leading harness engineering
Why this role:
- Full ownership of harness design across the rocket and payload interfaces
- Set standards that scale to future programs
- Work shoulder-to-shoulder with senior leads in an agile setup
- Influence mechanical and electrical decisions early
- Step into leadership as the function grows
- See your harnesses power vehicles that reach orbit
Location: San Francisco Bay Area Full-time onsite
Darwin Recruitment is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.
Adam Slade