Job Summary: The Electrical Engineering Lead is responsible for leading the electrical engineering team in the design, layout, and build of LED-based lighting fixtures for machine vision applications. As a player/coach, you will balance hands-on technical contribution with team leadership responsibilities. You will set priorities, ensure optimal resource allocation, establish best practices, manage technical risk, and maintain robust communication channels within your team and with upper management. Your leadership will drive quality, efficiency, and continuous improvement in all development and testing processes.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Leadership & Team Development:
- Lead a team electrical engineers and technicians, providing direction and mentorship to achieve project objectives and foster professional growth.
- In coordination with the Engineering Manager, establish, track, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) for design quality, project delivery timelines, team productivity, and resource utilization.
- Develop and implement electrical engineering best practices, design standards, documentation templates, and design review processes to ensure consistency and quality across all projects.
- Facilitate and coach team members on root cause analysis and failure analysis techniques to systematically resolve design and production issues.
- In coordination with the Engineering Manager, identify skill gaps, recommend training programs, and create development plans for team members.
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement, technical excellence, and collaborative problem-solving.
- Escalate project risks to Engineering manager as appropriate.
- Exercise independent judgment to drive progress and ensure operational effectiveness within established guidelines.
- Represent the electrical engineering team in tactical discussions, clearly articulating resource needs, project risks, and technical recommendations.
- Approve electrical designs, BOMs, and supplier selections within established guidelines.
- Communicate ideas, expectations, and goals effectively while working with and through others to achieve desired results.
- Uphold Smart Vision Lights' corporate values and policies in all activities.
Technical Contribution:
- Actively contribute to hardware design, PCBA layout, electronic assembly, circuit testing, and troubleshooting for design validation.
- Create schematics and PCB layouts for LED lighting products, utilizing deep knowledge of electronic components, LED technology, and thermal management.
- Make independent technical decisions on component selection, circuit architecture, and testing approaches.
- Develop BOMs, work instructions, and manufacturing documentation as necessary.
- Manage vendor relationships and maintain the approved vendor list (AVL).
- Conduct hands-on testing, validation, and troubleshooting of electrical designs.
- Create and maintain technical documentation and respond to customer technical questions.
Project & Risk Management:
- Drive on-time delivery of electrical engineering deliverables while maintaining quality standards.
- Proactively identify and document risks in electrical designs, testing protocols, and production processes, implementing mitigation strategies to ensure project success.
- Facilitate and encourage cross functional communication with mechanical engineering, firmware, test engineering, and manufacturing teams to ensure integrated product development.
- Provide regular status updates to internal customers and management on project progress and issue resolution.
- Participate in daily/weekly cross-functional meetings as required.
Technical Excellence & Innovation:
- Identify and promote design reuse opportunities across projects to accelerate development, improve quality, and enhance safety factors.
- Evaluate and recommend Electrical CAD tools, test equipment, and software solutions to improve team efficiency and design quality.
- Contribute to technology roadmap planning and evaluate emerging technologies in LED lighting, power electronics, and machine vision for potential application.
- Recommend product and system improvements including procedural enhancements, training needs, and documentation upgrades.
- Ensure designs comply with relevant safety and regulatory standards (UL, CE, FCC, etc.) and coordinate compliance testing activities as necessary.
WORK EXPERIENCE/SKILLS REQUIRED
Technical Skills:
- Expert-level proficiency in hardware design and PCBA layout with demonstrated ability to optimize designs for manufacturability, cost, and performance.
- Deep understanding of LED technology, LED drivers, and their integration into lighting systems.
- Thorough knowledge of electronic components, semiconductors, and their critical parameters.
- Experience with thermal analysis and thermal management.
- Proficiency in reading and interpreting electrical drawings, schematics, and specifications.
- Experience with PCB CAD layout software (e.g., Altium, Eagle, KiCad) to create schematics and PCB designs.
- Strong knowledge of electrical testing equipment and validation procedures.
- Proficient in circuit troubleshooting and failure analysis.
- Understanding of circuit performance related to EMC/EMI and design for compliance.
- Experience creating BOMs, evaluating suppliers, and managing approved vendor lists.
- Proficient at soldering and handling circuit assemblies.
- Advanced proficiency in MS Excel for data analysis and reporting.
- Experience with design validation testing and quality systems.
- Understanding of electrical test laboratory equipment.
- Proven track record of driving process improvements and design optimization.
Communication & Documentation:
- Detail-oriented, understand the importance for complete and accurate documentation.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with ability to present to all levels of staff and customers.
- Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively across functional teams.
- Ability to create and edit technical data and effectively communicate and answer technical questions from customers.
Independence & Initiative:
- Self-directed with ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
- Proven ability to manage multiple priorities and project simultaneously.
- Detail-oriented with commitment to complete and accurate documentation and communication.
- Demonstrated ability to identify opportunities for process improvement and design optimization.
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
- Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or associates degree in Electrical Engineering with 10+ years of relevant experience will be considered.
- Minimum experience of 8+ years of experience required.
- Proven track record of leading electrical design projects from concept through production.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: From $85,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Application Question(s):
- Do you have at minimum 6 years experience of hands-on hardware design including PCB layout?
- Do you have Design for Manufacturing experience?
- Do you have a bachelors degree or equivalent year of experience in relevant hardware development experience?
Work Location: In person
