Harness Design Engineer II

At Rocket Lab, we’re not just launching rockets — we're building the future of space. Our Space Systems team builds everything from complete spacecraft, precision payloads to the components and subsystems that allow them to thrive in space, like solar panels, flight software, star trackers, optical systems, separati...

Our Space Systems team has enabled more than 1,700 missions, ranging from interplanetary exploration, in-space manufacturing to national security and defense initiatives. The team has built spacecraft, payloads, and components for missions to the Moon and Mars, working with partners including NASA, the Space Develop...

Based out of Rocket Lab's global headquarters in Long Beach, CA, the Harness Design Engineer II will primarily work on design of electrical harnesses for our spacecraft, including organizing interfaces, selecting components, specifying split locations and lengths, and generating design documentation to pass to our s...

Harnessing responsibilities:
Perform or support design tasks such as harness layout, connector and back shell selection, wire selection, and shielding for our spacecraft.
Generate pinout tables for harness connectors at both ends of the assembly based on spacecraft interconnect diagrams
Responsible for creating and maintaining BOMs for harnessing in our product lifecycle management (PLM) tool
Assist in creating documentation for electrical system schematics and harness designs
Avionics responsibilities:
Develop test plans and procedures for avionics subsystems and components
Perform analysis and evaluations to optimize spacecraft avionics circuits for performance, reliability, and manufacturability.
Participate in internal design and customer facing review meetings as a representative of the avionics electrical engineering team.
Work in multi-disciplinary teams to assist in design of electronic assemblies for our satellite and spacecraft programs

Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, or electrical engineering; or other engineering degree
2+ years of electrical engineering or avionics experience
U.S citizenship required, due to program requirements
Master’s or PhD in aerospace, mechanical, or electrical engineering; or other engineering degree
Experience in the aerospace/defense industry
Experience supporting satellite development programs and satellite operations
Thorough understanding of the space environment, orbital mechanics, and rigid body dynamics
Experience with LT Spice, Altium, and/or Siemens software suite (i.e. Teamcenter)
Experience with requirement management tools such as JAMA
Experience with testing electrical subsystems and assemblies, thermal vacuum or random vibration, and hardware-in-the loop (HITL) testing
Proficiency in electronics principles and electrical systems, including power electronics, communication systems (e.g. RS-422, SPI, Ethernet, CAN bus), signal integrity, and grounding
Proficiency with instrumentation, interfaces, and sensors, including power supplies, oscilloscopes, serial devices, accelerometers, thermocouples, RTDs, and 4-20mA sensors
Ability to work in a dynamic environment with competing priorities

Citizenship of AU / NZ / EU / NATO