Optical Simulation Engineer Jobs in Grand Rapids, MI

Eaton's Corporate Sector division is currently seeking a Electronics Engineer Specialist. The expected annual salary range for this role is $122000 - $179000 a year. Please note the salary information shown above is a general guideline only.

Salaries are based upon candidate skills, experience, and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations. What you'll do: This position reports to the Engineering Manager, Embedded Electronics Center of Excellence (EE CoE). The Specialist Electronics Engineer provides expert-level leadership in the design and development of electronic hardware for Eaton Aerospace's Division, covering a broad range of products and programs.

The specialist plays a critical role in developing and integrating electronics for optical fuel sensors, debris/contamination monitoring systems, chip oil detectors, electro-optical (EO) sensors, and other related electronic components. As a senior technical authority, the incumbent focuses on new product development and sustaining engineering, guiding projects from conceptual design through certification and production support. The Specialist Electronics Engineer manages all technical aspects of assigned development programs, ensures designs meet stringent aerospace requirements (including safety and compliance standards), and provides mentorship to junior engineers and project teams.

This role is not tied to a single program; instead, it offers technical depth across multiple projects within FED's electronics portfolio, ensuring cross-program consistency, innovation, and high reliability in our electronic hardware solutions. Essential Functions: Electronics Hardware Design Leadership: Lead the end-to-end development of electronic hardware for Aerospace division products, from concept and architecture through detailed design, integration, and production readiness. Deliver robust analog, digital, and mixed-signal circuit designs for Aerospace applications such as optical sensing units for fuel systems, debris monitoring devices, chip-in-oil detectors, and power distribution control modules.

Use advanced simulation tools (e.g., PSpice, LTSpice, ModelSim) to validate and optimize circuit performance in the design phase. Program & Cross-Functional Interface: Act as the technical leader on multiple concurrent projects, coordinating with systems engineers, mechanical engineers, software/firmware developers, and project managers across the business. Ensure that electronic designs comply with overall system requirements and constraints, and that all hardware deliverables meet program objectives and customer expectations

Actively participate in design and program reviews, prepare and present technical information for design reviews, and provide expert guidance to ensure technical compliance and risk mitigation for each project. Systems Architecture & Innovation: Define and refine electronics hardware topologies to meet product requirements (e.g. for fluid sensing, power management, control systems)

Evaluate new technologies - such as advanced microcontrollers, processors, sensors, and power management schemes - for potential integration into FED products. Conduct trade-off analyses (performance, weight, cost, reliability) to guide critical design decisions. Contribute to platform-level design strategies that can be leveraged across multiple programs to speed development and improve commonality.

Standards Compliance & Certification: Ensure all hardware designs meet aerospace industry standards and regulatory requirements, including RTCA/DO-160 and MIL-STD for environmental and EMI/EMC compliance, and RTCA/DO-254 design assurance for airborne electronic hardware. Lead the preparation of certification artifacts and compliance matrices, working closely with Eaton's certification engineers and external regulatory bodies as needed to achieve timely product qualification and airworthiness approval. Hands-On Development & Testing: Engage directly in detailed design activities - including schematic capture, PCB layout guidance/review, component selection, and prototype build - to ensure design quality and robustness.

Oversee and perform hardware verification and validation testing: functional testing, environmental stress testing (vibration, temperature, humidity), EMI/EMC testing and mitigation (conducted/radiated emissions & susceptibility, filter design, shielding), and physical layer signal integrity testing for high-speed digital interfaces. Analyze test data to verify design margins and drive necessary design iterations to meet performance and reliability goals. Supplier & Production Support: Collaborate with internal supply chain and external suppliers for manufacturing and industrialization of electronics designs.

Provide technical guidance to suppliers designing custom electronic components or assemblies (e.g., sensor modules or PCBs) to ensure they meet Eaton's design standards and quality metrics. Support transition from development to manufacturing, including design for manufacturability (DFM) and design for assembly/test considerations. Troubleshoot and resolve any hardware issues arising in pilot runs, production, or field operation (including root cause analysis of component failures or performance drifts)

Qualifications: Basic Qualifications: -Minimum of a Bachelors Degree from an accredited institution. -Minimum of 7 years experience in electronics hardware design and development and leading complex hardware projects from concept through production. -This position requires access to export-controlled information.

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must be a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S

citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C

1158. -Eaton will not consider applicants for employment immigration sponsorship or support for this position. This means that Eaton will not support any CPT, OPT, or STEM OPT plans, F-1 to H-1B, H-1B cap registration, O-1, E-3, TN status, I-485 job portability, etc.

Preferred Qualifications: -Experience with embedded architecture. Proven skill in developing or reviewing system/hardware architectures and platform-level designs for complex electronic systems. -EMI/EMC Expertise: Demonstrated experience in EMI/EMC analysis and mitigation.

Capable of performing root-cause analysis for electromagnetic interference issues, design filters and shielding to meet stringent EMC requirements, and working with EMC test labs to achieve compliance. Knowledge of best practices for noise reduction, grounding, and filtering in high-speed and power electronics designs. -Testing & Validation: Strong skills in hardware testing, troubleshooting, and validation.

Proficient with lab equipment (oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, logic analyzers, etc.) for debugging and verifying hardware functionality. -Experience in creating and executing comprehensive test plans, including hardware validation, environmental stress testing, and power systems analysis. Able to interpret test results, perform data-driven problem solving, and implement design improvements

-Minimum 3 years of experience using circuit simulation and analysis tools such as PSpice, LTSpice for analog, and ModelSim or similar for digital/HDL. -Minimum 3 years of experience with a range of microcontrollers, microprocessors, ADC DSPs, and FPGA/SoC devices, including their peripheral interfaces and power management needs. -Minimum 3 years of experience in schematic capture, PCB layout, and hardware prototyping (microprocessors, sensors, ADCs, power regulators, etc.)

Skills: Position Criteria: -Communication Protocols & Interfaces: Strong knowledge of industry-standard digital communication protocols and interfaces, especially as applicable to aerospace sensor systems. -Experience with aerospace applications (considering temperature, vibration, MTBF, obsolescence). Experience guiding multi-layer PCB designs for high-speed and analog circuits, ensuring proper layout techniques for EMC and signal integrity, and working with PCB designers to implement design rules.

Able to lead the bring-up of prototypes, oversee debugging and rework, and iterate designs for optimization. -Up to 25% travel required All positions may require participation in video and in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job-related competencies, and all candidates' privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws.

We are committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of an applicant's race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, marital status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law. Eaton believes in second chance employment.

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction history will be considered regardless of their arrest or conviction history, consistent with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the California Fair Chance Act and other local laws. You do not need to disclose your conviction history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if Eaton is concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report.

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Eaton provides various Health and Welfare benefits as well as Retirement benefits, and several programs that provide for paid and unpaid time away from work. Click here for more detail: Eaton Benefits Overview. Please note that specific programs and options available to an employee may depend on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.