Harness Design Engineer

About the Role

Title: EWIS / Harness Design Engineer (Contract)

Headcount: 2+

Location: Costa Mesa, CA — full on-site, 5 days/week; no hybrid or remote

Start: ASAP — full on-site; tool-ready and productive quickly

Interview process: ~30–45 minute technical interview with the hiring manager

Security / clearance: Eligible for U.S. security clearance

Why hiring:

Build out the EWIS team for clean-sheet harness design in a fast-change, co-located integrator + harness designer + technician ecosystem.

End product:

• Clean-sheet electrical wire harnesses from integrator inputs and system requirements
• Harness documentation: block/interconnect diagrams, wire diagrams, formboard/production outputs, assembly guidance, and test support artifacts as required

Tech / domain environment:

• Aerospace, defense, and rugged EWIS / harness design practices
• Siemens Capital Logic (2D), Siemens Capital Harness (3D), and Siemens NX (cabling/routing / related packaging as used by the team)
• Common aerospace interconnects: CAN, Ethernet, RS-422, RS-232, MIL-STD-1553, and similar
• SAE AS50881-class aerospace harness practice (formerly MIL-W-5088 lineage) — solid production judgment over memorizing every MIL-STD
• Fast-change, full-time on-site collaboration with daily vehicle/system changes
• Co-located integrator, harness designer, and technician team

Job duties:

• Perform 2D electrical/logic design (schematics, wire lists, connectivity) in Siemens Capital Logic
• Perform 3D harness routing and packaging in Siemens Capital Harness and/or Siemens NX
• Drive clean-sheet harness design from integrator inputs through build-ready documentation
• Select and specify connectors, backshells, cables, and related hardware for manufacturing and high-reliability constraints
• Work with technicians on build issues and integrators on change churn
• Support design reviews and keep pace with daily vehicle/system changes
• Coordinate with harness manufacturers and high-reliability build processes

Ideal profile:

Dual-skilled engineer strong in both 2D electrical logic and 3D routing in Siemens Capital, with Siemens NX in a harness/cabling or related packaging context. Dual-skill profiles are preferred and uncommon.

Must haves:

• 3+ years designing electrical wire harnesses for rugged, aerospace, defense, or comparable high-reliability applications in production (not academic/POC-only)
• Hands-on production Siemens Capital experience ( Logic 2D and/or Harness 3D — specify which; both strongly preferred)
• Hands-on Siemens NX experience in a harness/cabling or related mechanical packaging context
• Ability to take integrator inputs and own clean-sheet harness design through documentation technicians can build
• Ability to read and produce interconnect, wire block, and wire diagrams
• Working familiarity with common aerospace interconnects (e.g. CAN, Ethernet, RS-422/232, 1553) as they affect harness design
• Working knowledge of aerospace harness design practices and AS50881-class guidance
• Experience with harness manufacturers / high-reliability build processes
• Full-time on-site in Costa Mesa, 5 days/week (no hybrid/remote)
• Eligible for U.S. security clearance
• Already proficient in Capital (and NX as used) — no multi-week tool learning curve; contractor impact expected quickly

Nice to haves:

• Deep dual Capital Harness 3D + NX cabling portfolio on aerospace vehicles or complex platforms
• Formboard and 2D production drawing generation for build
• CATIA or Creo harness exposure in addition to Capital (not a substitute for Capital)
• Connector/cable library ownership or standards-board participation
• Prior contractor success in high-change, co-located hardware teams
• BS in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience

Disqualifiers:

• Academic or POC-only harness design with no production harness experience
• No Siemens Capital experience, or Capital so limited that a full tool ramp is required
• 3D CAD-only or mechanical-routing-only background with no electrical/harness logic depth (unless intentionally submitted as the 3D half of a 2D+3D pair)
• CATIA, Creo, or auto-harness-only background with zero Siemens Capital path
• PCB/Altium board design without EWIS/harness tool depth
• Inability or unwillingness to work full-time on-site in Costa Mesa
• Ineligible for U.S. security clearance
• Expectation of remote or hybrid work after a short on-site period