Electrical Engineer 2

Illumina • Hayward, CA

2d

About The Position

The Electrical Engineer 2 supports the development, introduction, and lifecycle management of complex DNA sequencing instruments. This hands-on role spans New Product Introduction (NPI), manufacturing transfer, sustaining engineering, and product lifecycle management, with technical ownership of smart PCAs, high-performance compute platforms, and cable and interconnect systems. The engineer drives component and supplier changes, performs qualification activities, investigates product and manufacturing issues, and supports improvements in reliability, performance, manufacturability, and supply continuity. Success requires strong troubleshooting skills, laboratory experience, and collaboration across Product Development, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Field Service, and external partners.

The role supports NPI from concept through manufacturing transfer, including design reviews, prototype builds, design verification, pilot production, and release readiness. It also supports released products through component obsolescence management, supplier transitions, cost reductions, quality improvements, and field issue resolution. The engineer assesses proposed product changes, contributes to risk assessments, FMEAs, and qualification plans, maintains engineering documentation, and manages assigned projects and stakeholder communications.

The engineer qualifies, integrates, and manages server-class compute platforms used in sequencing instruments. Work includes troubleshooting platform hardware and firmware interactions, executing validation plans, analyzing results, documenting findings, and collaborating with suppliers and internal teams on reliability, serviceability, performance, and supply continuity.

The position designs and modifies cable assemblies for power, control, sensor, communication, and high-speed data interfaces. It develops associated wiring diagrams, pin assignments, connector selections, grounding and shielding requirements, drawings, and bills of materials; performs electrical and signal-related analyses; and supports verification and system-level qualification testing. The engineer also investigates manufacturing, supplier, RMA, and field failures; supports test methods and diagnostic tools; implements changes through lifecycle and configuration processes; and helps ensure compliance with applicable electrical safety, EMI/EMC, ESD, environmental, and product-quality requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• At least 2 years of relevant engineering experience supporting product development, NPI, manufacturing, or sustaining engineering activities.
• Working knowledge of analog and digital electronics, power distribution, PCB/PCA interfaces, grounding methods, and system-level electrical integration.
• Experience designing or supporting cable harnesses, including connector selection, pinout definition, wire sizing, shielding, grounding, documentation, and verification testing.
• Experience troubleshooting hardware using oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, logic analyzers, and related laboratory equipment.
• Familiarity with engineering design tools such as Altium, OrCAD, or equivalent platforms.
• Experience working within engineering change control and product lifecycle management processes.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with server-class compute platforms, embedded computing systems, or HPC hardware.
• Knowledge of CPU architectures, DDR4/DDR5 memory, PCIe devices, NVMe storage, networking interfaces, BIOS/UEFI environments, and platform management technologies.
• Experience with design verification testing, EMI/EMC, electrical safety, ESD controls, and regulated design processes.
• Experience working with EMS providers, cable suppliers, and contract manufacturers.
• Experience in biotechnology, life sciences, medical devices, laboratory instrumentation, semiconductor equipment, or other highly regulated industries.
• Familiarity with Python, MATLAB, PowerShell, or other scripting and data-analysis tools.

Responsibilities

• Support NPI from concept through manufacturing transfer, including design reviews, prototype builds, design verification, pilot production, and release readiness.
• Execute sustaining engineering initiatives for released products, including component obsolescence, supplier transitions, cost reductions, quality improvements, and field issue resolution.
• Assess proposed product changes and contribute to risk assessments, FMEAs, qualification plans, and implementation activities.
• Develop and maintain engineering specifications, schematics, bills of materials, test plans, engineering change orders, and technical reports.
• Manage assigned projects and deliverables, communicating status, risks, and recommendations to stakeholders.
• Support qualification, integration, and lifecycle management of server-class compute platforms used in sequencing instruments.
• Troubleshoot compute hardware issues, including POST and boot behavior, memory training, PCIe enumeration, firmware interactions, storage compatibility, system logs, and intermittent failures.
• Execute hardware validation plans, analyze results, document findings, and partner with software, firmware, systems, and manufacturing teams to resolve issues.
• Collaborate with suppliers and internal stakeholders to maintain compute platform reliability, serviceability, performance, and supply continuity.
• Design and modify cable assemblies for power, control, sensor, communication, and high-speed data interfaces.
• Develop wiring diagrams, pin assignments, connector selections, grounding strategies, shielding requirements, assembly drawings, and bills of materials.
• Perform cable and interconnect analyses involving current capacity, voltage drop, derating, signal integrity, routing constraints, shielding effectiveness, and mechanical robustness.
• Support continuity, insulation resistance, hipot, EMI/EMC, environmental, and system-level qualification testing.
• Partner with mechanical engineering, manufacturing, and suppliers to ensure cable designs meet performance, quality, and manufacturability requirements.
• Investigate manufacturing defects, supplier issues, RMAs, and field failures using structured root-cause methodologies.
• Support development of test methods, diagnostic tools, fixtures, and acceptance criteria.
• Review supplier and contract manufacturer qualification data and support evidence-based engineering decisions.
• Implement engineering changes through PLM, ERP, and configuration management processes while maintaining traceability and design integrity.
• Support compliance with applicable electrical safety, EMI/EMC, ESD, environmental, and product-quality requirements.

Benefits

• Variable cash program (bonus or commission) eligibility for all employees.
• Equity may be included for eligible roles.
• Access to genomics sequencing.
• Family planning benefits.
• Health, dental, and vision benefits.
• Retirement benefits.
• Paid time off.
• Employee Resource Groups offering career development experiences, cultural awareness, and social responsibility opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level