Harness Manufacturing Engineer

About the Role:

We are standing up an in-house harness production line, and we are looking for a Harness Manufacturing Engineer to own the manufacturing side of it.

You will own harnesses across every satellite Planet builds. You will work inside the New Product Introduction (NPI) team, which develops and scales the assembly, integration, and test operations for our next generation of satellites, and you will partner closely with our Electrical Engineering harness design team, production technicians, quality, and supply chain to take harnesses from first article through qualified, repeatable flight production.

This role is ideal for someone who wants to build a manufacturing capability from the ground up and enjoys hands-on work with the hardware.

This is a full-time, in-office position based in our San Francisco HQ 5 days per week.

Impact You'll Own:

Own manufacturing engineering and production operations for Planet’s in-house wire harness cell across all satellite programs

Develop and document harness assembly procedures, process flows, work instructions, and cleanroom/ESD protocols

Scope, design, and deploy tooling, fixtures, workstations, and verification programs (continuity, HiPot, pull-tests) for the harness cell

Partner with Electrical Engineering to provide DFM/DFA feedback on new harness designs prior to release

Support vehicle subsystem integration, troubleshoot build issues, and drive nonconformances to resolution

Manage the make versus buy transition, including qualifying external vendors and phasing production in-house

Participate in hiring and training production technicians to transition builds from prototype to flight production

Monitor production metrics and recommend facility or capital equipment improvements to scale capacity

What You Bring:

4+ years of manufacturing development experience, including direct experience with wire harness or cable assembly manufacturing

Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field

Hands-on knowledge of harness fabrication, including wire preparation, crimping, solder cup termination, shield termination, backshell installation, and potting

Working knowledge of IPC/WHMA-A-620 Class 3 workmanship requirements

Experience reading and creating harness drawings, wiring diagrams, and pinout tables

Experience with harness design and routing CAD such as RapidHarness or SolidWorks Electrical

SolidWorks skills sufficient to develop tooling and fixturing, verify routing and bend radius clearance in vehicle assemblies, and extract useful views for work instructions

Hands-on experience with hardware assembly, integration, and test

Excellent attention to detail and technical writing skills for documenting assembly and test processes

What Makes You Stand Out:

Experience standing up a new manufacturing cell or bringing outsourced assembly processes in-house

Familiarity with space flight interconnect standards (e.g., MIL-DTL-83513, MIL-DTL-22520, NASA workmanship standards, NASA Level 2 screening)

Experience programming and operating automated test systems (CAMI, Cirris) and specialized processing/crimp tooling (DMC, Schleuniger)

Active IPC/WHMA-A-620 certification or Certified IPC Trainer (CIT)

Experience with MES/PLM software and executing continuous improvement initiatives in cleanroom environments

Application Deadline:

11:45p / 23:45 PT on the date stated below. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. This posting may be removed earlier than projected if a suitable pool of applications has been received. For this reason, we recommend applying as soon as you are able to.

EAR/ITAR Requirements:

This position requires access to export-controlled information, and as such, employment (or hiring of a contractor) is contingent upon the candidate’s ability to access all applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing being required by the Bureau of Industry and Security and/or the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.

Benefits While Working at Planet:

These offerings are dependent on employment type and geographical location, based upon applicable law or company policy.

Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision plans

Health Savings Account (HSA) with a company contribution

Generous Paid Time Off in addition to holidays and company-wide days off

16 Weeks of Paid Parental Leave

Wellness Program and Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Home Office Reimbursement

Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement

Tuition Reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning

Equity

Commuter Benefits (if local to an office)

Volunteering Paid Time Off

Compensation:

The US base salary range for this full-time position at the commencement of employment is listed below. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary short-term and long-term incentives (bonus and equity). The final salary range is determined by job related experience, skills and location. The range displays our typical hiring range for new hire salaries in US locations only. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

San Francisco Salary Range

$114,200—$142,700 USD

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance