Independent Contractor Electrical Hardware Engineer Jobs

Job Title: Electrical Hardware Engineer

Job Description

The Electrical Hardware Engineer will play a crucial role in supporting the radar sustainment and modernization efforts as part of the Combat System. This role involves designing, developing, integrating, and providing lifecycle support for complex electronic hardware systems, enabling long-range air and missile defense capabilities aboard. The engineer will engage in full system architecture tasks—from circuit board-level design to subsystem and full radar system integration—ensuring mission readiness of legacy radar platforms expected to remain in service for decades. The position operates within a high-reliability, mission-critical defense environment, working alongside multidisciplinary engineering teams, government stakeholders, and depot-level sustainment operations.

Responsibilities

• Lead and execute the detailed design of test control systems, instrumentation, and electronic hardware supporting radar subsystem sustainment, including transmitters, signal processors, and antenna arrays.
• Develop schematics, wiring diagrams, and technical data packages to support fabrication, integration, and field-level maintenance.
• Perform component selection, circuit design, and board-level layout reviews, ensuring compliance with military and industry standards such as MIL‑STD and IPC.
• Support reverse engineering and obsolescence mitigation efforts for legacy electronics to extend system lifecycle and maintain operational availability.
• Contribute to configuration management, documentation control, and engineering change processes.
• Collaborate with manufacturing and operations teams to improve test efficiency, repair turnaround time, and system reliability metrics.
• Develop and execute test plans, procedures, and verification protocols aligned with system requirements and Navy validation standards.
• Support integration of radar subsystems into lab, depot, and shipboard environments, ensuring compatibility across hardware, software, and platform interfaces.
• Troubleshoot and resolve complex system-level issues, including signal integrity, power distribution, RF interactions, and interface failures.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience with circuit design (mixed signal).
• Experience in designing and developing electrical schematics.
• Ability to develop test requirements, plans, and procedures for electronic hardware systems.
• Proficiency with ECAD software such as Altium and Cadence for PCB design and analysis.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Radar design and development experience.
• Experience with the Aegis Combat System.
• Must be willing to obtain secret level security clearance.

Work Environment

The position is primarily onsite at the facility, with a preference for 100% onsite work but flexible to a 3 days onsite and 2 flex days schedule. The role follows a 9/80 schedule and involves working in an office setting with occasional lab environment work when needed.

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Odon, IN.

The pay range for this position is $65.00 - $80.00/hr.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:
• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

This is a hybrid position in Odon,IN.

This position is anticipated to close on Jul 24, 2026.

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 actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

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