Hardware Sustaining & PLM Engineer

American Innovations

$95K — $115K *
Telecommunications & Hardware
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • BSEE or equivalent with strong bench/hardware debug experience.
  • 4-7 years in sustaining, manufacturing, or product engineering with lifecycle ownership.
  • Proven experience with BOM, ECO, obsolescence, and cost reduction processes.
  • Familiarity with PLM systems (Arena preferred; Windchill acceptable).
  • Experience in production sustaining and contract manufacturing coordination.

Responsibilities

  • Own Arena PLM for hardware scope, ensuring revision control and release documentation.
  • Maintain visibility on sustaining engineering efforts.
  • Provide production support, conduct failure analysis, and resolve field issues.
  • Lead cost reduction initiatives and qualify alternate vendors.
  • Execute manufacturing test sustaining tasks as backup support.
  • Collaborate on schematic and BOM updates and prototype support.
  • Partner across departments to prioritize sustaining requests and maintain PAC visibility.

Benefits

  • Collaborative work environment with cross-functional team engagement.
  • Opportunities for skill growth in directed program EE over time.
  • Hands-on experience with field-deployed industrial products.
  • Involvement in cost-effective design and engineering practices.
Full Job Description
We are seeking a skilled, hands-on Hardware Sustaining & PLM Engineer to join our R&D Engineering team. This role is the primary owner of hardware sustaining and operations support - including Arena PLM, BOM/ECO management, obsolescence and alternate-part workflows, EOL mitigation, and cost-reduction execution - for field-deployed industrial products. The ideal candidate brings a solid electrical engineering foundation with credible bench and hardware debug experience, strong lifecycle and manufacturing support discipline, and comfort interfacing with Operations, Procurement, Contract Manufacturing, and Quality. This is a sustaining-first role (~50-60% in year one): you will keep engineering and manufacturing aligned, so shipped products remain buildable, supportable, and well-documented. In addition to sustaining and PLM responsibilities, this position provides backup support for manufacturing/production test under our test engineering lead and executes directed hardware tasks (schematic/BOM updates, sustaining changes, prototype support for sustaining spins) from our Senior Staff hardware engineer. The successful candidate will thrive in a collaborative environment, working closely with firmware, mechanical, test engineering, manufacturing, and program teams to close sustaining requests with clear qualification evidence and controlled Arena releases. Strong analog architecture or greenfield program design is not the primary focus of this role; analog and mixed-signal literacy are valued for qualifying sustaining changes, with escalation to senior hardware and test engineering for measurement and architecture decisions. Hardware Sustaining & PLM - Own Arena PLM for hardware scope, revision control, and release documentation. - Maintain sustaining visibility. - Production support, failure analysis, and field issue resolution - Cost reduction initiatives and alternate vendor qualification Manufacturing Test Backup - Execute manufacturing and production test sustainting tasks. - Build documented backup. - Escalate changes or test strategies as needed. Directed Hardware Support - Execute directed schematic/BOM/support tasks - test point additions, sustaining HW changes, prototype support. - Collaborate on manufacturing-testable design inputs. - Partner with Operations, Procurement, Quality, ME, and Program Managers on sustaining intake, prioritization, and PAC visibility. Requirements Key Qualifications - BSEE or equivalent with credible bench / hardware debug experience (not PLM-only or document-only) - 4-7 years in sustaining engineering, manufacturing engineering, product engineering (hardware), or hardware roles with heavy sustaining / lifecycle ownership - Demonstrated ownership of BOM, ECO, obsolescence, EOL mitigation, cost reduction, and alternate-part / second-source workflows - PLM systems experience (Arena preferred; Windchill or equivalent acceptable) - Manufacturing support and lifecycle management - production sustaining, contract manufacturing coordination, controlled release discipline - Manufacturing test literacy - test points, functional test impact, ECO regression on production test (not principal test architect) - Comfort working with Operations, Procurement, Contract Manufacturing, and Quality - Accepts sustaining-first scope (~50-60% in year one); disciplined use of Jira and Arena Nice to Have - Experience sustaining field-deployed or industrial electronics (installed base, long product life, Ops-driven changes) - Exposure to test & measurement, data acquisition, or industrial monitoring products (sustaining context - not program analog architect) - EOL mitigation and alternate sourcing with documented qualification evidence - Comfort working cross-functionally with mechanical, firmware, test engineering, and manufacturing teams - Altium or team schematic/CAD exposure (sustaining edits and BOM support) - Field / RMA debug experience - Interest in growing directed program EE skills over time (not required at hire)

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at American Innovations

More Telecommunications & Hardware Jobs

Find similar Hardware Sustaining & PLM Engineer jobs: