Staff Harness Engineer

About Capella

Capella, an IonQ company, spans national security, advanced sensing, and next-generation compute to deliver secure, mission-ready intelligence. Capella’s culture is built on collaboration, rigorous engineering, and a shared commitment to delivering solutions that strengthen global stability and security. Team members work side-by-side with some of the most innovative minds in space systems, quantum-enabled technologies, and mission-critical operations.

Capella values curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to tackle hard problems with precision and creativity. Capella welcomes and encourages applicants whose perspectives are historically underrepresented in technology, national security, and aerospace. No prior space experience is required. Diverse viewpoints strengthen Capella’s ability to innovate and deliver meaningful impact for partners worldwide.

Location: This role is based onsite at our Louisville, CO office. 
Travel: Up to 10%, domestic or international.
Job ID: 1669

The Role

As a Staff Electrical Hardware Design Engineer, you will take ownership of full-cycle PCBA designs, from early concept to flight readiness. You will work cross-functionally with RF, mechanical, software, FPGA/SoC, and operations teams to bring high-reliability, space-ready electronics to orbit. You will guide the Electrical Engineering team on special topics and present across disciplines to help facilitate ideas, product readiness, and conduct reviews.

Responsibilities

• Design System Level harnesses from power distribution to high-speed communications
• Own the harness design lifecycle and implement harness design best practices
• Collaborate across teams—mechanical, RF, electrical, and systems—to ensure seamless integration. Knowledge of industry-standard electrical design principles, to include, but not limited to electrical component selection, testing, manufacturing, and production processes
• Technical point of contact for Wire, Cable, Connector, and Harness suppliers
• Support resolving non-conformances from harness suppliers
• Provide critical input to schedule planning, hardware requirements, and process improvements
• Define test plans and verification strategies that meet flight readiness requirements

What Success Looks Like 

• You consistently deliver flight-quality harnesses on schedule with minimal oversight 
• You proactively identify and articulate system-level risks and drive mitigations early 
• You communicate across hardware/software and cross-functional gaps with confidence and clarity 
• You make thoughtful trade-offs in constrained environments and justify them with data 
• You show curiosity about advanced areas like architecture optimization or radiation mitigation, even if they’re outside your scope for now 
• You exhibit advanced wide-ranging experience in harness engineering, using in-depth professional knowledge 
• You get things done, align with stakeholders, and document concisely 

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science or higher from an accredited college in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or related discipline, or equivalent experience/combined education 
• 5+ years’ experience designing, testing, and troubleshooting complex harnesses  
• Experience with designing and maintaining systems from beginning to end of the product lifecycle  
• Knowledge of PCBA’s and working closely with electrical design engineers to define harnessing requirements and inform board level design decisions 
• An understanding of RF cabling, components, and testing 
• Excellent Organizational skills and strong documentation habits
• Strong knowledge of industry harnessing standards (NASA-STD-8739.4, IPC/WHMA-A-620, etc) 
• Experience with SolidWorks or other CAD applications  
• Strong knowledge of Zuken or other harness design applications
• Experience in engineering product lifecycle management tools
• Strong knowledge of cable assembly design
• An understanding of Electro Magnetic Effects (EME) to include Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) and Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI)
• To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Capella Employees must be a U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable. Learn more about ITAR here.  

Compensation 

The approximate base salary range for this position is $126,887 - $166,127. The final job level and annual salary will be determined based on the education, qualification, knowledge, skills, ability, and experience of the final candidate(s), specific office location and calibrated against relevant market data and internal team equity.  Benefits listed in this posting may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Capella Space.