Senior Harness Engineer

Starcloud•Redmond, WA

8d•Onsite

About The Position

Starcloud is building data centers in space. By placing compute in orbit, we can draw on near-continuous solar power and radiate heat directly to space, unlocking a path to scaling AI compute that is not constrained by land, water, or terrestrial grids. Our first satellites are already flying GPUs in orbit, and our roadmap scales to multi-megawatt, then gigawatt-class orbital compute platforms. Every watt of power and every bit of data on our spacecraft travels through a harness. The Harness Engineer is the person who makes that system real. As a Harness Engineer at Starcloud, you will own the electrical interconnect system of our spacecraft end to end: from architecture and connector selection, through detailed design and 3D routing, to build documentation, manufacturing, inspection, and integration on the vehicle. You will be the single point of accountability for getting harnesses designed, built, tested, and installed on schedule. This is a hands-on, full-lifecycle role. You will spend time in CAD, in design reviews with electrical and mechanical engineers, on the production floor with technicians, and in the integration bay with the vehicle. You will drive decisions, not wait for them.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in electrical, mechanical, aerospace engineering, or a related technical discipline
3+ years of experience designing and building electrical wire harnesses for spacecraft, launch vehicles, aircraft, automotive, or similar high-reliability hardware
Hands-on experience taking a harness design from schematic through fabrication and installation
Proficiency in at least one 3D CAD package and one electrical/harness design tool

Nice To Haves

Experience with spaceflight harness standards (IPC/WHMA-A-620 Space Addendum, NASA-STD-8739.4, ECSS-Q-ST-70-series) and space-rated wire and connector families (D-sub, micro-D, nano-D, circular MIL-DTL-38999, RF coax, high-current power)
Experience with high-power distribution (hundreds of volts, hundreds of amps), high-speed data (Ethernet, PCIe, SpaceWire, fiber), and associated shielding and grounding practices
Experience with EMI/EMC, ESD, radiation, thermal, and vibration considerations for harness design
Experience scaling from prototype to production: design for manufacturability, supplier management, cost and lead-time reduction
IPC/WHMA-A-620 or NASA 8739.4 certification; comfortable crimping, soldering, and inspecting your own work
Experience supporting vehicle integration and launch campaigns
Ability to work in a fast-paced startup with ambiguity, tight schedules, and rapidly evolving designs

Responsibilities

Own harness design from concept to flight
Drive the electrical interconnect architecture for spacecraft power, data, RF, and GPU/compute subsystems, including high-current power distribution for multi-kilowatt payloads
Produce complete harness designs: interconnect diagrams, wiring schematics, wire lists, connector and contact selection, wire gauge and derating analysis, shielding and grounding schemes, and bend-radius/routing constraints
Model 3D harness routing in CAD (NX, Creo, CATIA, or Siemens Capital/Zuken E3 for electrical), coordinating clearances, clamp locations, service loops, and keep-outs with the mechanical team
Define and release harness drawings, build books, from/to lists, and inspection criteria; manage revisions through release and ECO processes
Work as the bridge between EE and Mech
Partner with electrical engineers to capture pinouts, signal integrity and EMI/EMC requirements, power budgets, and connector interfaces from every avionics box and payload
Partner with mechanical and structures engineers on routing paths, mounting provisions, thermal environments, and vehicle access for assembly and rework
Own and maintain the interface control documentation (ICDs) for all electrical connections across the vehicle; catch interface mismatches before they reach the floor
Own the build plan: sourcing of wire, connectors, contacts, backshells, overbraid, and tooling; long-lead procurement; and kitting
Write build, crimp, solder, and inspection procedures to IPC/WHMA-A-620 (Space Addendum) and NASA-STD-8739.4 standards
Stand up and scale harness production, in-house or with contract manufacturers; train and support harness technicians; perform or sign off on first-article inspections
Be on the floor during builds to resolve issues in real time, disposition non-conformances, and implement fixes without stopping the line
Support vehicle integration, continuity/hipot/insulation resistance testing, and functional checkouts
Own harness-related anomaly investigation and root cause, in test and on orbit
Feed lessons learned back into design standards, part libraries, and process documentation as we move from one-off builds to repeatable, rate production