Hardware/Electrical Design Engineer

Job Summary

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Hardware/Electrical Design Engineer with strong experience in both analog and digital PCB design using Altium Designer. The ideal candidate will be responsible for designing custom PCBs, and selecting Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) components, and contributing to the ruggedization and overall design of complex systems. This role requires expertise in Altium Designer for schematic capture, PCB layout, and system-level design, including analog and digital circuit design. The candidate will also participate in key engineering reviews such as PDR, CDR, TRR, and PRR, ensuring that the designs meet both performance and ruggedization standards.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Utilize Altium Designer for schematic capture, PCB layout, and design validation, ensuring the designs meet all specified electrical, mechanical, and ruggedization requirements.
• Select and integrate COTS components, focusing on optimizing both analog and digital performance, compatibility, and ruggedization for PCB designs.
• Use the GIDEP (Government-Industry Data Exchange Program) to identify and report part failures, obsolescence, and counterfeit risks.
• Analyze and compile data to ensure product quality, regulatory compliance, and adherence to military/aerospace ruggedization standards.
• Select components for computing and display systems, including motherboards, memory, storage devices, graphics cards, and power supplies, ensuring compatibility with custom PCB designs.

Custom Board Identification and Requirement Definition:

• Identify the need for custom analog and digital PCBs based on system requirements, technical risk, and performance specifications.
• Define and manage detailed requirements for custom boards, collaborating with vendors to ensure successful design and manufacturing of both analog and digital PCBs.
• Utilize Altium Designer to create reliable, high-performance PCBs, balancing the needs of analog circuitry and digital systems in rugged environments.

Engineering Reviews and Collaboration:

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to resolve technical challenges, improve PCB designs, and optimize designs for manufacturability and performance.
• Actively contribute to design reviews, including PDR, CDR, TRR, and PRR, providing valuable feedback on analog and digital PCB designs, system-level designs, and ruggedization strategies.
• Participate in engineering peer reviews, offering expertise on PCB layout, analog and digital system design, and ruggedization techniques to ensure optimal product quality.

Engineering Drawing Creation and Ruggedization:

• Specify and ensure that all analog and digital components meet the durability requirements for extreme environments, including vibration, temperature, and shock.
• Develop comprehensive engineering drawings, PCB layouts, and system block diagrams using Altium Designer to ensure designs meet ruggedness and reliability standards for military and aerospace applications.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of 4-7 years of experience in hardware design, with hands-on experience in analog and digital PCB design using Altium Designer.
• Proficiency in schematic capture and PCB layout in Altium Designer for both analog and digital systems, including high-speed digital, power, and analog circuit design.
• Experience in creating engineering drawings, system block diagrams, and custom PCB designs.
• Strong knowledge of ruggedization techniques and reliability standards for electronic components and systems.
• Proficiency with CAD software (Altium Designer, SolidWorks and/or AutoCAD) and other relevant design tools

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience designing custom PCBs for specialized hardware, including thermal and power management, analog signal processing, and high-speed digital systems.
• Proven experience in designing and optimizing analog front-end circuits and mixed-signal PCB layouts for ruggedized applications, specifically within the fixed-wing and rotorcraft design sectors.
• Knowledge of military or aerospace standards for rugged electronic systems, with a focus on analog and digital circuit design.
• Familiarity with video signal conversion technologies, power management, and embedded system design.

Skills and Abilities:

• Strong proficiency in Altium Designer for schematic capture, PCB layout, and design validation, particularly for analog and digital circuits.
• Ability to design, manage, and optimize complex analog and digital PCBs, ensuring high reliability and performance.
• Ability to design and assemble displays, computers, tablets, and peripheral products, including BIOS, firmware, and software installation for rugged environments.
• Experience testing and validating PCBs and complete systems to DOD/MIL specifications, with an emphasis on both analog and digital circuit testing.
• Proficiency with lab tools such as oscilloscopes, multi-meters, spectrum analyzers, and other instruments used in PCB testing and validation.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and projects while maintaining a high level of attention to detail and accuracy.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and troubleshooting skills, particularly in addressing challenges related to both analog and digital PCB designs.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional engineering teams and contribute to formal design reviews.
• Working knowledge of military and aerospace electronics, with a focus on both analog and digital design standards and ruggedization techniques.