Electrical Engineer

About Pilgrim:

Pilgrim develops and deploys advanced biotechnology for defense and national security. Our primary platform, ARGUS, is a fully autonomous system for detecting biological threats in near real time, from naturally occurring pathogens to engineered agents. Pilgrim is not a research institute or academic lab - we move beyond theory, transforming breakthrough science into decisive capabilities.

Pilgrim is backed by Peter Thiel, Dylan Field, Conviction, Cantos, and Refactor. Located in Redwood City, our team pairs mechanical and electrical engineering with chemistry and biology to bring critical technologies out of the lab and into the hands of operators in the field.

About the Role:

As an Electrical Engineer at Pilgrim, you'll own the electronics and embedded systems across our products, from concept through mass production. You'll work across PCB design, mixed‑signal circuits, sensing and power management, board bring‑up, and system integration – taking boards from prototype all the way to deployed systems.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop PCBs from schematic capture and component selection through layout, fabrication, assembly, bring‑up, and validation.
• Work across rigid, rigid‑flex, and flex circuits while balancing electrical performance, packaging constraints, manufacturability, EMI/EMC, and reliability.
• Build and test prototypes, breadboards, and evaluation circuits to validate design concepts before committing to production hardware.
• Bring up and debug new hardware using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters, power supplies, spectrum analyzers, and other standard lab equipment.
• Develop circuits for sensing, actuation, embedded compute, communications, and power management subsystems.
• Design, assemble, and troubleshoot wire harnesses, connectors, and cabling for reliable integration of boards, sensors, actuators, and power systems.
• Collaborate with mechanical, firmware, software, and systems engineers to integrate electronics into complete electromechanical assemblies.
• Travel for live demonstrations, field testing, and operator feedback sessions, then use what you learn to improve designs through rapid iteration.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering (preferred) or related discipline (e.g., Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering), or demonstrated equivalent capability (formal degree not required).
• Portfolio of independent projects demonstrating applied hardware design and prototyping skills (required).
• Hands‑on experience with PCB design software (KiCad preferred; Altium acceptable) and proficiency in mixed‑signal circuit design.
• Proven ability to independently design, bring up, debug, and verify complex PCBAs.
• Experience debugging systems where issues span multiple domains (analog, digital, RF, power) and root causes are not immediately obvious.
• Deep familiarity with lab instrumentation (oscilloscopes, power supplies, logic analyzers, VNAs) and the ability to extract meaningful insight from imperfect measurements.
• Experience with communication protocols (SPI, I2C, UART, USB, CAN, or Ethernet).
• Understanding of EMI/EMC considerations in board and system‑level design.

Nice to Have

• Experience with edge computing platforms, embedded microcontrollers, or SoCs for low‑power or connected systems.
• Experience deploying ML models on embedded systems or working with RTOS‑based firmware, with programming skills in C/C++ or Python for firmware development and test automation.
• Background in low‑power design or power optimization for embedded electronics.
• Familiarity with CAD tools and rapid prototyping methods such as 3D printing or machining to support integration with the mechanical team.
• Exposure to ruggedized electronics or instrumentation designed for harsh environments.