Astrolab

Designs modular lunar rovers for exploration

Harness Design Engineer

Aerospace EngineeringUpdated on Nov 13

Full-timeHawthorne, CA, USA$169k - $187k /yrIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

A bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related technical field is required.
At least 3 years of professional wire harness design experience is required, including creating and interpreting wiring diagrams, schematics, and interface documentation.
Experience using computer-aided design (CAD) and product lifecycle management (PLM) systems to develop and release production drawings, with understanding of harness design and manufacturing considerations, is required.
Experience troubleshooting wire harness issues and supporting design solutions through root cause analysis and corrective action is required.

Responsibilities

Coordinate with Avionics Engineers to define and manage system-level harness schematics for flight hardware, test, and ground support equipment (GSE) assets.
Identify and maintain a library of aerospace-grade materials, including connectors, backshells, shielding, wires, and cables for signal, power, data, and radio frequency (RF).
Use 3D CAD tools to design routed harness models and establish physical architecture within complex vehicle assemblies, following aerospace standards for bend radii, strain relief, retention, isolation, and separation.
Create 2D flat harness drawings and formboards for production, support first-article builds, and resolve manufacturing non-conformances.
Perform voltage-drop, current-derating, and electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC) shielding-effectiveness analyses, and resolve designs to defined standards.
Coordinate qualification tests, including continuity, isolation, and vibration/thermal cycling tests.

Desired Qualifications

Experience supporting aerospace, launch vehicle, defense, robotics, automotive, or other complex technical applications.
Experience with aerospace-grade materials and components, including considerations for weight, cost, manufacturability, inspection, testability, and rework.
Experience with relevant industry standards, such as IPC/WHMA-A-620, NASA-STD-8739.4, NASA-STD-8739.6, NASA-STD-6016, SAE AS22759, or J-STD-001.
Experience designing for high-vibration, vacuum, thermal-cycling, or electromagnetic-interference environments.
Experience with harness-level or system-level signal-integrity analysis for high-speed data interfaces such as Ethernet, SpaceWire, or LVDS.
Experience with Siemens NX and Teamcenter.
Experience with harness-specific design tools such as E3 Zuken.

Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) is pioneering new ways to explore and operate on distant planetary bodies. We are singularly focused on designing, building, and operating a fleet of multi-purpose commercial planetary rovers to extend and enhance humanity’s presence in the solar system. We are seeking motivated, creative, and exceptional people to join our world-class team.

As a Harness Design Engineer, you'll own the design and execution of flight, GSE, and test harnesses that connect avionics, sensors, power systems, and vehicle subsystems—ensuring reliability in extreme environments.

This is an end-to-end role spanning requirements definition, architecture, detailed design, first-article builds, qualification testing, and production support. You will work closely with mechanical, thermal, electrical, integration, and manufacturing teams to deliver harness systems that are safe, lightweight, manufacturable, and flight-ready.

We are looking for a hands-on, highly collaborative engineer who thrives in fast-paced environments and is excited to build real flight hardware. You’ll be a key technical owner on the vehicle program with high visibility and the ability to shape best practices as the organization scales.

Coordinate with Avionics Engineers to define and manage system level harness schematics for flight hardware, test, and GSE assets.
Identify and maintain a library aerospace-grade materials, including connectors, backshells, shielding, wires, and cables for signal, power, data, and RF.
Use 3D CAD tools to design routed harness models, ensuring proper physical architecture based on aerospace standards for bend radii, strain relief, retention, isolation, and separation, within complex vehicle assemblies.
Create 2D flat harness drawings and formboards for production. Support first-article builds and resolve manufacturing non-conformances.
Perform essential analyses such as voltage drop, current derating, and EMI/EMC shielding effectiveness and resolve designs to defined standards. Coordinate qualification tests like continuity, isolation, and vibration/thermal cycling.

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related technical field
3+ years of professional experience in wire harness design, including experience creating and interpreting wiring diagrams, schematics, and interface documentation
Experience using CAD and PLM systems to develop and release production drawings, with an understanding of harness design and manufacturing considerations
Experience troubleshooting wire harness issues and supporting design solutions through root cause analysis and corrective action

Preferred Qualifications

Experience supporting aerospace, launch vehicle, defense, robotics, automotive, or other complex technical applications
Experience with aerospace-grade materials and components, including considerations for weight, cost, manufacturability, inspection, testability, and rework
Experience with relevant industry standards, such as IPC/WHMA-A-620, NASA-STD-8739.4, NASA-STD-8739.6, NASA-STD-6016, SAE AS22759, or J-STD-001
Experience designing for high vibration, vacuum, thermal cycling, or electromagnetic interference (EMI) environments
Experience with harness-level or system-level signal integrity analysis for high-speed data interfaces, such as Ethernet, SpaceWire, or LVDS
Experience with Siemens NX and Teamcenter
Experience with harness-specific design tools such as E3 Zuken

About the Company

Astrolab

Designs modular lunar rovers for exploration

Astrolab designs and builds modular rovers for lunar and extraterrestrial surface missions. Its flagship FLEX rover is a modular, reusable vehicle that can transport cargo, equipment, and crew across the Moon. The system works by using interchangeable payload modules on a shared rover chassis, allowing rapid reconfiguration for different mission profiles—from cargo delivery to astronaut transport—without needing a new vehicle. The rover is designed to be compatible with existing and planned space infrastructure, including NASA’s Artemis program, enabling integration with governmental and commercial lunar operations. What sets Astrolab apart is its emphasis on a single, adaptable platform with modular payloads that can handle a range of tasks and mission profiles, rather than many specialized, single-use machines. The company aims to enable a sustained lunar presence and expanded human activity beyond Earth by providing reliable, flexible surface mobility.

Company size: 51-200
Company stage: Not listed
Total funding: Not listed
Headquarters: Hawthorne, CA
Founded: 2019

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