Electronics Technician

9 Mothers•Austin, TX

1d•$75,000 - $95,000•Onsite

About The Position

9 Mothers builds robotic weapons systems, including EDDA, a robotic shotgun turret for counter-UAS, and a proprietary belt-fed shotgun platform. Every prototype fielded is an electromechanical system with cable harnesses, wired compute and control boxes, and custom PCBAs. This role is responsible for hands-on electronics fabrication, including building cables and harnesses, wiring compute and control enclosures, and reworking PCBAs. The workmanship is critical as it goes directly into weapons systems that are used extensively, requiring clean, documented, and durable builds. The role involves significant time in Cable & Harness Fabrication, Box Builds & System Wiring, PCBA Rework & Repair, and Test Setups & Fixtures. There is also a component of Field Support, which may require travel to test ranges to repair electronics on deployed systems and support live-fire test events, requiring safe work practices around firearms and adherence to range safety protocols.

Requirements

5+ years of hands-on experience as an electronics technician, electrical assembler, or similar role building and repairing complex electromechanical hardware — robotics, aerospace, defense, automotive, test equipment, or industrial systems
Expert-level cable and harness fabrication: crimping, soldering, pinning, and the judgment to pick the right connector, wire gauge, and strain relief for the application
Proficient soldering and rework skills, including SMT component replacement
Able to read and work from schematics, wiring diagrams, and harness drawings — and to build sensibly from an engineer’s verbal description or sketch when a drawing doesn’t exist yet
Competent with standard bench equipment: DMM, oscilloscope, power supplies; able to trace electrical faults methodically
Meticulous workmanship and documentation habits: labeling, as-builts, redlines, test records
Comfortable working around firearms and live-fire operations, and willing to travel occasionally to test ranges in central Texas conditions (heat, dust, outdoor work)
US person (citizen or lawful permanent resident) — required for ITAR compliance

Nice To Haves

IPC/WHMA-A-620 (cable and harness), IPC-A-610, or J-STD-001 certification — or demonstrably equivalent workmanship
Military electronics maintenance background (avionics, armament, ground systems, or similar MOS)
Experience designing and fabricating simple test fixtures, including basic mechanical work — drilling, tapping, 3D printing, panel fabrication
Familiarity with motors, servos, actuators, and motion-control wiring on robotic systems
Experience with data logging or basic scripting (e.g., Python) for automated or long-duration tests

Responsibilities

Build cables and wire harnesses from schematics, harness drawings, or an engineer’s sketch — cut, strip, crimp, solder, pin, and pot as required
Work across various connector families common to robotic and vehicle systems, using correct tooling for each
Label, sleeve, and strain-relieve harnesses for hard use on outdoor, live-fire robotic platforms
Verify every build: continuity, pinout, insulation resistance / hipot where appropriate; capture as-builts and redline drawings
Wire compute and control enclosures end-to-end: panel layout, component mounting, power distribution, wire routing and dressing, grounding and shielding
Perform point-to-point checkout and initial power-up checks before handing boxes to engineering for bring-up
Build repeatably so that subsequent units match the first
Rework and repair PCBAs: component replacement (through-hole and SMT), ECO / blue-wire modifications, connector replacement, and conformal coating touch-up
Troubleshoot boards and assemblies to the failed component using DMM, oscilloscope, and bench power supplies
Build and run simple electrical test setups: cable life/flex testing, actuator test fixtures, breakout boxes, load banks, and long-duration soak tests
Instrument tests, log results, and report failures with enough detail that engineering can act on them
Maintain the electronics lab: test equipment, soldering stations, crimp tooling, and stock of wire, connectors, and consumables
Travel to test ranges when needed to repair harnesses, boxes, and electronics on deployed systems and support live-fire test events
Work safely around firearms and an active belt-fed shotgun platform, with disciplined adherence to range safety protocols