Senior Electrical Sustaining Engineer

Ouster•San Francisco, CA

5d•$150,000 - $190,000

About The Position

Ouster builds digital LiDAR sensors and tools for engineers, roboticists, and researchers. The Senior Electrical Sustaining Engineer will own production electrical hardware designs and drive engineering changes to Ouster’s LiDAR hardware. The role includes revising released designs—for example, redesigning a board around an end-of-life component, qualifying a second source, or implementing cost reductions while maintaining production continuity. The position bridges engineering, supply chain, and quality. It also incorporates root-caused hardware issues into design guidelines intended to prevent repeat defects in next-generation New Product Introduction (NPI) builds. The role may be eligible for equity and benefits. Base pay is $150,000–$190,000, depending on skills, work experience, location, and qualifications.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering or equivalent.
At least 6 years of experience in sustaining, component, or electrical design engineering in a volume manufacturing environment.
Hands-on experience modifying production designs, including schematic capture and PCB layout in Altium or equivalent, SPICE circuit simulation, and analog or power circuit design.
Component qualification experience, including reliability testing such as thermal cycling, HALT, and derating analysis, and familiarity with standards such as AEC-Q100/Q200.
Failure-analysis skills, including component-level fault isolation and working with failure-analysis labs on X-ray, cross-sectioning, and curve tracing.
Strong bench skills with oscilloscopes, digital multimeters (DMMs), power analyzers, and data acquisition systems.
Experience running ECOs and BOM changes in a PLM system such as Arena or similar.
Python or similar scripting experience for test automation and data analysis.
Clear written communication skills, including preparation of validation reports and change documentation.
Exceptional attention to detail, leadership, and organizational skills.
Strong analytical and structured problem-solving capabilities.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills for technical documentation and cross-functional teamwork.
Proactive and self-motivated, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

Experience with LiDAR, optical sensing, or pulsed laser systems, including VCSEL emitters, SPAD or photodiode receivers, or high-current laser drivers.
Background in automotive, industrial, or robotics hardware.
Experience working directly with an offshore contract manufacturer on yield and production-line issues.
Exposure to component costing and supplier negotiation.

Responsibilities

Take end-to-end technical ownership of electrical designs for shipping LiDAR sensors, including mixed-signal, power, and laser-driver circuitry.
Make schematic and PCB layout changes for sustaining revisions, and plan and conduct the design verification needed for release.
Drive, review, and approve Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) and Material Change Orders (MCOs) in Fusion.
Monitor component lifecycles and act on End-of-Life notices and Product Change Notifications before they disrupt production.
Evaluate replacement components for fit, pinout, and electrical performance, and qualify alternates with suppliers and distributors.
Maintain component libraries, including schematic symbols, footprints, and compliance data such as RoHS, REACH, and conflict minerals.
Provide component-level troubleshooting expertise to engineering, quality, test, and tier-1 suppliers.
Partner with procurement, supply chain, and the contract manufacturer to protect yield, reduce cost, and maintain supply continuity.
Debug complex failures as the technical point of contact and conduct root-cause analysis.
Translate field-quality lessons into actionable design-for-reliability guidelines for next-generation NPI architectures.