Electrical Engineer (PCB Design)

Second Order Effects•Redmond, CA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Second Order Effects (SOE) is seeking an Electrical Engineer specializing in PCB Design to join their team. This role involves taking ownership of high-performance circuit board layouts, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams, and ensuring designs meet project goals and specifications. The position requires balancing technical rigor, schedule, and business needs, with a focus on mission-critical challenges across various industries. SOE, founded in 2016, is a solutions firm that designs and ships custom electronics and systems for demanding applications in space, fusion energy, and advanced vehicles. They emphasize solving hard problems from first principles and empowering their team members.

Requirements

Able to work 40 hours a week on-site in El Segundo, California, or Redmond, Washington
Eligible to work on ITAR projects
Bachelor's Degree (Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Math, or related field) or equivalent experience
3+ years of applied experience with a demonstrated passion for engineering and technology development
Excellent written and verbal technical communication skills; ability to explain technical concepts and their implications to non-technical audiences
Experience in any common ECAD tool, such as Altium Designer, KiCad, Cadence, PADS, EAGLE, etc.
Demonstrated ability to translate requirements into manufacturable PCB layouts
Understanding of PCB specifications and properties: stackup & materials, trace/space, via sizing, impedance, transmission lines, trace capacity & sizing, propagation delay, etc.
Comfort working across multiple projects, adapting to changing requirements, and making informed decisions with incomplete information

Nice To Haves

Experience in team-based design and build projects (e.g., Formula SAE, Solar Car, CubeSat, Rover Challenge, etc.)
End-to-end electronics design experience: taking designs from requirements generation through schematic, layout, fabrication, and hardware bringup
Knowledge of PCB fabrication and assembly process, design for manufacture and design for assembly (DFM / DFA), familiarity with IPC and/or JEDEC standards
Experience interfacing with PCB and assembly vendors to have designs fabricated
Large-format or high-density or high-layer-count PCB design experience, preferably for aerospace, automotive, medical, or other high-reliability applications
Expertise with Altium Designer or KiCad
Experience with library configuration management (e.g., Altium Vault, database libraries, or PLM systems)
Experience with either high-density, high-layer-count or large-format PCB designs, preferably for aerospace, automotive, and/or medical applications
Experience with HDI stackups: blind & buried vias, via-in-pad, escape routing of dense BGAs
Familiarity with IPC and JEDEC standards
Experience with Git and/or SVN for revision control

Responsibilities

Own the design of PCB layouts from concept through manufacturing handoff for a variety of applications
Ensure manufacturing readiness of boards by applying Design for Manufacturing (DFM) best practices, performing design rule checks (DRCs), and interfacing directly with PCB fabrication and assembly vendors to resolve issues
Produce consistently high-quality layouts and footprints aligned with IPC standards and SOE best practices
Identify opportunities to improve PCB design processes, libraries, and documentation, and share lessons learned to elevate team effectiveness and design quality
Collaborate with electrical, mechanical, and SI/PI engineers to optimize layouts for thermal, EMI, and mechanical integration
Inspect incoming PCBAs, working with other engineers to understand and address any footprint- or layout-related issues, and synthesizing takeaways to feed back into our process and improve future designs

Benefits

Equity (via ISOs) in Second Order Effects, Inc.
Equity (via PIUs) in our incubated companies (through our holding company, Second Order Holdings, LLC)
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%)
Up to 22 weeks of paid parental leave dedicated to new child bonding
Relocation assistance available if 50+ miles away from the office
Electric Vehicle (EV) charging ports at our LAX office
Daily catered lunches, snacks, and accessible kitchen