Senior Opto/Electrical Harness Engineer — Antenna Systems in Santa Clara, California at E-Space

We are hiring a Senior Opto/Electrical Harness Engineer to own the optical and electrical harness that brings a space-based antenna to life — and to carry that ownership all the way through to functional, flight-qualified hardware that meets requirements. This is a hands-on individual-contributor role for an engineer who takes personal responsibility for the outcome, makes decisions with imperfect information, and stays engaged until the hardware works.

You own both the optical and the electrical harness. Not the drawings alone, not the design review alone — the working hardware. You should be comfortable at the bench and on the integration floor, fluent in the data that tells you whether a harness will survive launch and operate on orbit, and willing to confront the problems that stand between a design and qualified flight hardware.

On-site in California or Texas. Some travel between sites may be required.

Turn ambiguous, first-of-a-kind problems into optical and electrical harness, interconnect, and sensing products that are manufacturable, qualified for the flight environment, and proven to meet requirements in functional hardware. Move with urgency without compromising reliability — on a spacecraft, the harness cannot be reworked once it’s on orbit, so getting it right and getting it done are the same job.

• Optical and electrical harness design — through delivered hardware. Own the design and selection of the antenna’s wiring harness across both domains: electrical wiring, optical fiber, connectors, and interconnects — including controlled-impedance design and impedance matching where signal integrity depends on it. Ownership does not end at drawing release; it ends when functional hardware meets requirements.
• Sensing and signal interfaces. Own the on-structure sensors and their integration, routing, and signal interfaces.
• Requirements and supplier decisions. Define harness and connector requirements and drive component selection and supplier evaluation. Make the call, document the rationale, and keep the program moving.
• Qualification for flight. Take harness, connectors, and fiber through qualification for the flight environment, and own the results — including the failures — until the hardware is proven.
• Routing and integration on a deployable structure. Develop routing, strain-relief, and integration approaches compatible with a large deployable spacecraft structure.
• Documentation others can build to. Create harness drawings, wire lists, and interface documentation precise enough to manufacture and integrate from without interpretation.
• Anomaly resolution across the lifecycle. Support assembly, integration, and test, and drive harness-related anomalies to root cause and lasting correction throughout the entire product lifecycle.

Bias for action. You move quickly from problem to decision to a next step. You distinguish choices that can be tested and adjusted on the bench from decisions that require deeper validation before flight, and you act with urgency on both.

Extreme ownership. You own the harness outcome end to end — across both optical and electrical domains and across design, supplier, qualification, and integration. When a dependency threatens the build, you engage the people needed to resolve it, communicate the impact, and drive a recovery plan. The hardware working is your responsibility, not someone else’s.

Relentless follow-through. You define what “done” means before you start — and “done” is functional hardware that meets requirements, not a released drawing. You inspect your own progress, surface stalled work early, and close the loop.

High standards and direct communication. You use facts and data to judge whether a design will survive and perform, you raise problems candidly and early, and you take responsibility for solving them.

Presence where the hardware is. You spend time at the bench and on the integration floor. You handle the hardware, listen to the technicians building and testing it, and use firsthand observation to make better decisions.

The antenna’s optical and electrical harness is designed, qualified, integrated — and it works in functional hardware that meets requirements. Problems surface early and get decisive action. Qualification results are trusted. Harness-related anomalies decline and don’t recur. The harness you own survives launch and performs on orbit, and the team can build and integrate from your documentation without guesswork.

This is a fast-paced, high-impact environment — flexibility to occasionally work extended hours or weekends during critical periods is expected.