Senior Electrical Engineer

Job Title: Staff Electrical Engineer

Job Description

The Staff Electrical Engineer leads the design, development, modification, and analysis of complex electronic systems and products. This role focuses on hardware and power electronics, including power supply design and system integration, while ensuring designs meet performance, cost, manufacturability, and customer requirements. The engineer serves as a technical leader, guiding less-experienced engineers, resolving issues in existing systems, and supporting proposal and R&D activities in a largely self-directed environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead a group of engineers on technical activities, ensuring completion of work on time and within budget.

• Design, develop, analyze, document, and support testing of products, systems, and subsystems, with emphasis on power electronics and electrical systems.

• Troubleshoot and diagnose malfunctions in existing products or systems, and implement modifications or improvements as needed.

• Use computer-aided engineering and other design and analysis software, including circuit simulation and Circuit Card CAD tools, to develop and refine designs.

• Review customer specifications and requirements and develop design approaches that best support them, explicitly considering cost as a key design variable.

• Provide budget, cost, and schedule input for assigned design activities and contribute to program planning.

• Specify and evaluate supplier components, subsystems, and services to ensure technical suitability and cost-effectiveness.

• Drive program designs to meet design-to-cost and design-for-manufacture requirements, balancing performance, reliability, and producibility.

• Develop prototypes to retire key development risks and validate design concepts.

• Compile and evaluate design and test data to support design decisions and continuous improvement.

• Analyze, develop, and recommend design approaches for new and existing products, systems, and subsystems.

• Design and maintain system Interface Control Documents (ICDs) to ensure clear and accurate definition of system interfaces and hardware compatibility.

• Determine hardware compatibility within systems and ensure proper integration of electrical and electronic components.

• Communicate clearly in written and oral form with internal teams and customers as required, including participation in engineering and business meetings.

• Participate in the preparation of technical proposals, providing engineering input and estimates as needed.

• Provide technical knowledge and assistance to other engineers and support personnel, serving as a subject matter resource.

• Lead and direct the work of others, including mentoring and guiding less-experienced engineers.

• Support, communicate, reinforce, and defend the mission, values, and culture of the organization.

• Attend appropriate engineering, customer, or business meetings to represent the technical team and support program objectives.

Essential Skills

• Bachelors degree in Engineering or a related technical field.

• 5+ years of relevant electrical engineering experience.

• Experience designing and maintaining system Interface Control Documents (ICDs).

• Ability to determine hardware compatibility within complex systems.

• Hands-on experience with engineering drawing applications; experience with CANVAS is a plus.

• Knowledge of and experience with circuit simulation applications.

• Knowledge of and experience with Circuit Card CAD applications; experience with ALTIUM is a plus.

• Experience with circuit design, circuit analysis, circuit board design, and PCB design.

• Experience with electrical systems design, with strong mechanical aptitude considered a plus.

• Demonstrated ability to lead a technical group independently and manage engineering activities.

• Eligibility for and ability to obtain a DOD security clearance within a reasonable time after hire.

• U.S. Citizenship.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with power supply design, including AC-DC, DC-DC, and DC-AC converters.

• Experience in hardware, power engineering, power electronic engineering, electromagnetic engineering, integrated circuit engineering, or component-level design.

• Experience working in R&D-focused environments with limited direction and high autonomy.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills for collaborating with cross-functional teams and customers.

• Ability to contribute to proposal development, including technical content and cost/schedule estimates.

• Experience specifying and evaluating supplier components, subsystems, and services.

• Familiarity with design-to-cost and design-for-manufacture principles.

• Experience developing prototypes to mitigate technical risks.

Work Environment

This role operates in a research and development environment where engineering teams work with a high degree of independence and minimal day-to-day direction. The position follows a 9/80 schedule and typically requires three days onsite (Tuesday through Thursday), with the option to work from home on Monday and Friday. Work involves modern engineering tools such as circuit simulation software, Circuit Card CAD applications like ALTIUM, and engineering drawing tools such as CANVAS. The culture emphasizes autonomy, technical excellence, collaboration, and alignment with the organizations mission and values, offering a setting where experienced engineers can take ownership of complex designs and lead innovative projects.

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Goleta, CA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $108000.00 - $144570.00/yr.

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.

PTO Health Benefits 401k

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Goleta, CA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Oct 27, 2026.

Workplace Type

This is a hybrid position in Goleta,CA.

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 without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for other accommodation options.

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

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall 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 applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.