Lead Electrical Engineer

Company Overview:

Second Order Effects (SOE) is an engineering consulting firm that transforms uncertainty into fully functional hardware and software. We work on projects at all stages of development; we perform analysis, build prototypes, and take products to market. Our team solves high-impact problems across numerous industries, including automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, industrial automation, biomedical, and green energy. Our designs control rocket engines, manage satellite communications, instrument fusion reactors, and are enjoyed by consumers around the world. The only thing we won’t build is weapons.

Founded in 2016, Second Order Effects has 50+ employees (and counting!) in offices in El Segundo, California and Redmond, Washington. We've worked with >130 clients on > 300 projects as a partner, on retainer, or on demand.

How do we do this? We prioritize others, build the right thing, welcome difficulty, and play the long game. Learn more at soeffects.com!

Team Overview:

The Electrical Engineering (EE) functional team, which represents SOE’s deepest functional proficiency, is composed of highly skilled and experienced professionals dedicated to delivering innovative and reliable electrical solutions for our customers. With a passion for cutting-edge technology and a commitment to excellence, we strive to exceed client expectations and contribute to the success of every endeavor.

Our team has expertise in analog circuits, mixed-signal designs, embedded programming, RF, power electronics, and optical systems development. This allows us to support a wide variety of customers in different industries and gives our engineers a chance to grow and learn from leaders across different specializations and disciplines. From building consumer gaming electronics to space-rated motor control systems, SOE provides the opportunity to experience every part of the engineering and product development process.

Job Overview:

As a Lead Electrical Engineer, you will take ownership over the design, architecture, and implementation of complex electrical systems for customers in a range of industries. This will require you to work in multidisciplinary project teams and to help develop and promote the standard for what exceptional electrical project output should look like at SOE. In this role, you will be expected to represent the EE functional area at SOE and lead projects by providing guidance and feedback to engineers on the EE team and developing infrastructure and tools to enable the growth of the team.

What You Will Do: 

• Own the design, architecture, and implementation of electronic systems and circuitry for customers in a variety of industries, including aerospace, renewable energy, robotics, and medical devices
• Develop and maintain infrastructure geared towards improving the efficiency of the EE functional team and their subsequent projects
• Mentor the EE team and mature the team’s current core competencies and skill sets 
• Decompose complex electrical systems into discrete bodies of work for other engineers on the team, subsequently ensuring the technical excellence of EE project output 
• Partner with customers to lead the requirements generation process for electrical systems, ensuring customer success and engagement throughout each project 
• Perform component selection and trade studies of different implementation options to best generate and satisfy design constraints
• Capture schematics and design PCB layouts, create component symbols and footprints
• Conduct design reviews with both internal and external stakeholders for hardware and electronic systems 
• Support Business Development (BD) efforts, which include generating and reviewing estimates for project efforts and assessing the scope of new work 

What You Will Need:

• Bachelor's Degree (Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Math, or related field)
• 3+ years of experience with designing, developing, and implementing custom electronic systems 
• Expertise with respect to end-to-end electronics design from requirements generation through schematic, layout, fabrication, and hardware bring-up 
• Strong communication skills for interfacing with internal engineering teams and external suppliers and customers
• Experience with decomposing ambiguous problems into manageable tasks and defining the work such that a team can effectively collaborate in developing solutions 
• Expertise with at least one ECAD tool, such as Altium Designer, KiCad, Cadence, PADS, EAGLE, etc.
• Knowledge of and familiarity with PCB fabrication and assembly process, design for manufacture and design for assembly (DFM / DFA), and IPC and/or JEDEC standards
• Experience in modeling, simulation, and testing of electronics

What Would Be Useful:

• Master’s degree (Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Engineering Management, Computer Science, Physics, Math, related field) or graduate research experience
• Experience leading an engineering team through a hardware design project from inception to completion
• Experience with designing large-format, high-density, and/or high-layer-count PCBs, preferably for aerospace, automotive, medical, or other high-reliability applications
• Experience with C/C++ firmware development or Verilog HDL development for FPGAs 
• Familiarity with Python and/or MATLAB for data parsing and signal analysis
• Familiarity with LTSpice for circuit simulation

Additional Requirements:

• Applicant must be willing to work 40 hours a week on-site in El Segundo, California, USA
• Applicant must be eligible to work on ITAR projects
• Job Type: Full-time (Salary)

ITAR Requirements:

• To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide sponsorship at this time.

Benefits:

• Compensation range of $124,400-$155,510 + equity incentive plan
• 100% employer-paid health insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision) for employees + 50% dependent coverage
• Flexible paid time off policy + 11 paid holidays + 12 paid sick days
• 401(k) retirement account and employer matching (Safe Harbor 4%)
• Flexible work from home policy
• Paid parental leave
• Relocation assistance available if 50+ miles away from the office
• Electric Vehicle (EV) charging ports
• Daily catered lunches, snacks, and accessible kitchen
• & more!

If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply!

Second Order Effects is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SOE is governed on the basis of excellence and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.