Electrical Engineer III

Job Description

Job Description

ABOUT TECNADYNE

Tecnadyne designs and manufactures subsea propulsion systems in San Diego. We are a small, hands-on team where engineers work side by side with production, purchasing, and quality, and where good ideas move from the whiteboard to the build floor quickly.

THE OPPORTUNITY

We are looking for an Electrical Engineer III who wants real ownership. In this role you will own electrical subsystems from requirements through release: architecture, schematics, PCB layout, analysis, prototype bring-up, test, and production support. We are in an active cycle of new hardware development, and you will also help sustain proven legacy designs that our customers still rely on.

Tecnadyne is a mechanically focused company, and electrical engineering is a critical supporting discipline. The work comes in waves: some weeks are design-heavy at your desk, and others are build weeks on the floor supporting testing, integration, and troubleshooting. This role also works closely with customers, joining technical discussions and supporting them after delivery. If you enjoy being the engineer who designs it, builds it, tests it, documents it, and explains it to the customer, this role is a strong fit.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Own the Full Design Cycle

• Own electrical subsystems and assemblies end to end, from requirements definition and block-level architecture through schematic capture, PCB layout, and production release
• Design analog, digital, and mixed-signal circuits including motor drives, power distribution, sensor interfaces, embedded control hardware, and communication interfaces such as CAN and RS-485
• Select components, connectors, and materials rated for subsea pressure, temperature, and corrosion requirements
• Iterate designs based on prototype results, test data, and manufacturing feedback

Analysis & Validation

• Perform power budget, power distribution, thermal, signal integrity, fault protection, and worst-case analyses to verify designs before release
• Use circuit simulation (for example, SPICE) to validate design intent
• Develop and execute test procedures including functional, hipot, and environmental testing
• Write clear test reports, analysis summaries, and technical notes that document design intent and findings

Hands-On Build, Test & Troubleshooting

• Support prototype and production builds alongside technicians and assemblers on the production floor
• Investigate electrical failures and anomalies on new and existing designs and implement practical corrective actions
• Use oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, and data acquisition systems for bring-up and troubleshooting

Systems Integration & Cross-Functional Work

• Integrate electrical systems with motors, sensors, wiring harnesses, and mechanical packaging
• Define and manage electrical interfaces (power, signal, communication) between subsystems
• Partner with mechanical engineering on routing, connector access, packaging, and serviceability
• Work directly with production, purchasing, and quality to understand their needs and make designs buildable, sourceable, and inspectable

Customer & Technical Support

• Participate in and lead customer technical discussions, design reviews, and project status updates
• Provide technical support to customers, primarily remote, with occasional travel (up to 5%)
• Translate customer requirements into clear electrical specifications and test plans

Documentation, Change Control & Sustaining

• Create and maintain schematics, BOMs, wiring harness drawings, and production documentation in Altium Designer
• Initiate and process ECOs, evaluating impact on performance, reliability, safety, cost, and schedule
• Maintain revision control and configuration management for released designs
• Support sustaining work on legacy products, including obsolescence management and board updates

Quality & Continuous Improvement

• Author and disposition NCMRs and participate in Material Review Board (MRB) activities
• Lead root cause analysis and corrective action on recurring electrical nonconformances
• Contribute to internal electrical design standards, templates, and best practices aligned to IPC standards
• Help mature engineering practices such as ESD control and high-voltage safety through practical, incremental improvements

WHAT YOU BRING

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering
• 5 to 10 years of electrical engineering experience in a manufacturing environment, including demonstrated ownership of at least one subsystem, board, or assembly from concept through production release
• Proficiency in Altium Designer for schematic capture and PCB layout
• Strong analog and digital circuit design fundamentals
• Experience with embedded hardware and sensor integration
• Experience with communication interfaces such as CAN and RS-485
• Hands-on hardware experience: prototype bring-up, lab testing, and troubleshooting on the production floor, not design-only
• Experience designing and building to IPC standards, including IPC-2221, IPC-7351, IPC-A-610, and IPC/WHMA-A-620
• Experience testing hardware to military standards, including MIL-STD-461 and [MIL-STD-810 - confirm]
• Experience with ESD control practices and high-voltage safety
• Experience performing power analysis, including power budgets and power distribution
• Strong technical documentation skills, including test reports and design analyses
• Clear, confident communication with customers as well as internal teams
• Comfort working on a small, lean team with cross-functional partners, and the confidence to speak up, share technical recommendations, and ask questions

Preferred

• Industry experience in subsea, defense, aerospace, or space applications
• Motor design, motor drive, or motor integration experience
• Thermal and high-power analysis experience, including tools such as Ansys
• SPICE modeling experience (for example, LTspice)
• Test automation or data analysis using LabVIEW or Python
• Track record of introducing process or documentation improvements in a growing organization

HOW SUCCESS IS MEASURED

• Electrical deliverables (schematics, layouts, BOMs, harness drawings) released accurately and on schedule
• Analyses confirm designs meet performance and reliability requirements before production release
• Test procedures developed and executed for all new electrical designs
• ECOs initiated and closed on time with full cross-functional coordination
• NCMRs dispositioned accurately and promptly, minimizing production delays
• Measurable reduction in recurring electrical nonconformances through root cause analysis and corrective action
• Electrical designs integrate with mechanical and control subsystems without interface issues

WORK ENVIRONMENT & PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

This is an on-site role that splits time between an office setting and the production floor. The standard schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Frequently sit, stand, walk, use hands to handle or feel, reach, stoop, kneel, crouch, talk, and hear
• Sit for extended periods and use standard office equipment such as a computer and phone
• Handle electrical assemblies and test equipment, and work with energized circuits under established safety practices, including high-voltage testing
• Periodically lift and/or move up to 10 pounds
• Vision requirements include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Base salary of $120,000 to $150,000 per year
• Employer-paid medical and dental at the base plan level, with Aetna and Kaiser Permanente options, including a $0-deductible HMO plan
• Employer HSA contribution of up to $2,400 per year when enrolled in an HSA-compatible medical plan
• 401(k) with company match: 100% of the first 3% you contribute, plus 50% of the next 2%
• $50,000 employer-paid life insurance; employer-paid disability coverage through MetLife
• Vision coverage through VSP (employee-paid)
• Paid time off starting at 2 weeks per year and increasing with tenure, plus 40 hours of sick time and 9 paid holidays
• Real ownership of hardware from design through the build floor, on a team in an active new product development cycle

Compensation

$120,000 - $150,000; a higher range will be considered for exceptionally qualified candidates.

Benefits

• 401(k) with match
• Medical and Dental plan
• Flexible benefits plan
• Paid holidays
• Paid sick time
• Paid vacation
  
  

  Tecnadyne is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act.