Electrical Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: Electrical Engineer Job Description

This mid-level Electrical Engineer role focuses on the design and development of high-voltage DC power systems for autonomous underwater vehicles. You will own electrical architectures from concept through manufacturing and validation, with a strong emphasis on PCB design and hands-on product development. This is a startup-style environment where you will wear multiple hats, work closely with cross-functional teams, and see your designs progress from prototype to production deployment.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop high-voltage DC power systems for autonomous underwater vehicles, from initial concept through deployment.
• Create and maintain PCB schematics and layouts, ensuring designs are production-ready and meet performance and reliability requirements.
• Lead PCB design and schematic capture activities, including component selection and integration of power electronics and control circuitry.
• Develop and support power conversion and power distribution systems, including rectification and charging architectures.
• Integrate battery management systems (BMS) into overall electrical architectures, ensuring safe and efficient energy storage and usage.
• Design and support high-voltage DC electronics, focusing on robustness, safety, and efficiency in demanding environments.
• Own electrical system integration efforts, collaborating with mechanical, software, and systems engineers to ensure cohesive product performance.
• Perform board bring-up, including initial power-on, configuration, and functional verification of new hardware designs.
• Plan and execute validation and testing of boards and systems, using appropriate lab equipment and test methods.
• Troubleshoot hardware issues from initial symptom through root cause analysis and corrective action, documenting findings and improvements.
• Support prototype testing and debugging, iterating on designs based on test results and field feedback.
• Participate in manufacturing-related activities, including design for manufacturing (DFM) and design for test (DFT), to enable reliable production builds.
• Collaborate with operations and manufacturing teams on product development that moves beyond prototype into production environments.
• Contribute to new product introduction (NPI) efforts, helping scale designs from engineering builds to larger production runs.
• Work closely with suppliers and manufacturing partners to address build issues, component changes, and product scaling challenges.
• Engage in cross-functional collaboration, working across disciplines to ensure electrical designs align with system-level requirements.
• Take strong ownership of projects, driving them forward, resolving technical challenges, and ensuring successful outcomes in a startup environment.
• Adapt to wearing multiple hats, balancing hands-on lab work, design activities, validation, and support for production.
• Continuously learn and expand your expertise, taking on new technical areas as needed to support autonomous and mission-focused systems.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a closely related field.
• Approximately 2–5 years of industry experience preferred, with openness to candidates up to about 7 years of experience.
• Proven experience designing production-ready printed circuit boards (PCBs), including both schematic capture and board layout.
• Hands-on experience with PCB design tools and ECAD software, with familiarity with Altium preferred (other ECAD tools also acceptable).
• Demonstrated ability to design hardware that progresses beyond the prototype stage into production environments.
• Solid understanding of design for manufacturing (DFM) and design for test (DFT) principles applied to electronic hardware.
• Exposure to battery management systems (BMS), including integration into larger power architectures.
• Experience with power distribution systems, ensuring reliable delivery of power across complex electronic systems.
• Background in power conversion and rectification, particularly within high-power DC electronics.
• Experience working with high-voltage DC systems and power electronics in practical, product-focused settings.
• Hands-on engineering experience with board bring-up, including initial testing and configuration of new designs.
• Strong skills in validation and testing of electronic hardware, including defining test plans and executing test procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to debug hardware issues, perform root cause analysis, and implement effective corrective actions.
• Regular use of lab test equipment such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, and related instrumentation.
• Experience with prototype integration, including assembling, testing, and refining early-stage hardware.
• Comfort working in a startup-style environment where engineers wear multiple hats and balance design with hands-on work.
• Interest in and commitment to hands-on engineering, spending meaningful time in the lab as well as in design tools.
• Experience collaborating across disciplines, such as mechanical, software, systems, or operations teams.
• Strong ownership mentality, taking responsibility for the success of projects from concept through deployment.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with generator systems, battery charging systems, and rectification systems in powertrain or energy storage contexts.
• Background in energy storage systems, including design, integration, or testing of battery-based solutions.
• Experience working with autonomous systems such as robotics, autonomous vehicles, drones, marine vehicles, or other unmanned systems.
• Exposure to defense, aerospace, or mission-focused technology environments, including startups or specialized electronics platforms.
• Experience with military or mission-critical electronics and autonomous defense platforms.
• Analog and power electronics design experience, including transformers, high-current systems, and power conversion circuitry.
• Familiarity with motor drives and high-power electronics used in propulsion or actuation systems.
• Manufacturing exposure, including new product introduction (NPI), design for manufacturing (DFM), supplier interaction, and product scaling.
• Interest in autonomous systems and their applications in marine, aerospace, or defense-related domains.
• Ability to thrive in environments where engineers learn new domains outside their initial expertise and take ownership of those areas.

Work Environment

This role is based 100% onsite, offering a highly hands-on environment with regular access to lab equipment and test setups. You will work closely with cross-functional teams in a fast-paced, startup-style setting that values initiative, ownership, and collaboration. The environment emphasizes practical hardware development, frequent interaction with prototypes and production units, and direct involvement in manufacturing and scaling activities.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Philadelphia, PA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $50.00 - $70.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: • Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Philadelphia,PA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 1, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications withoutregard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability,sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protectedby law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification oradjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability,please email View email address on us.fitly.work for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in thecity and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicantswith arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as acondition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this lawshall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process,including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applicationsand qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, youacknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.