Koch Industries

Mechanical Design Engineer - Wire Harness & Electronic Connector

Koch Industries$80K — $95K *
Manufacturing & Automotive
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Mechanical Engineering or related field
  • 3+ years of mechanical design experience in electronics or aerospace & defense
  • Proficient in 3D CAD software (SolidWorks, Creo) and GD&T
  • Strong understanding of mechanical design in harsh environments
  • Familiar with interconnect standards (IPC/WHMA-A-620, UL/CSA) and engineering documentation

Responsibilities

  • Architect end-to-end wire harness and connector solutions that meet various requirements
  • Define connector selection, wire gauge, and insulation for optimal performance
  • Produce detailed schematics and BOMs for production and testing
  • Create CAD models and engineering drawings for supplier assembly
  • Ensure compliance with Mil-spec qualifications and processes
  • Collaborate with stakeholders to resolve design and production issues
  • Mentor junior engineers and maintain part libraries and templates

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • Flexible spending and health savings accounts
  • Life insurance and disability coverage
  • Retirement plans with employer contributions
  • Paid vacation and time off
  • Educational assistance
  • Infertility assistance and paid parental leave options
Full Job Description
Your Job

You will design robust, serviceable, and manufacturable wire harnesses and connector systems for electronic products across prototype through high-volume production, ensuring electrical performance, mechanical reliability, testability, and cost-effective assembly while collaborating closely with electrical, manufacturing, test, and supplier teams.

What You Will Do

  • Architect end-to-end wire harness and connector solutions that meet signal, power, mechanical, environmental, and regulatory requirements while optimizing manufacturability and serviceability.
  • Define connector selection, pinouts, wire gauge and insulation, shielding, shielding terminations, sealing/strain relief, and routing strategies that ensure signal integrity, EMI control, and long-term reliability.
  • Produce detailed harness schematics, assembly drawings, cut-lists/BOMs, harness build procedures, and supplier-ready documentation that enable repeatable production and test.
  • Create and release detailed CAD models, engineering drawings with GD&T, and BOMs that enable repeatable supplier builds and in-house assembly.
  • Ensure product lines meet Mil-spec qualifications, during yearly audits, design changes and process improvements.
  • Collaborate with vendors, customers, and shop personnel to resolve design and production issues.
  • Mentor junior engineers and help maintain interconnect part libraries, standard connector families, and drawing/templates to accelerate new product development.


Who You Are (Basic Qualifications)

  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related discipline.
  • 3+ years of mechanical design experience in electronics product development or aerospace & defense environments.
  • Proficient with 3D CAD (SolidWorks, Creo, or equivalent) and generating production-ready 2D drawings with GD&T.

• Strong understanding of tolerancing, materials, coatings, and mechanical design for harsh environments.
  • Familiarity with interconnect and assembly standards and inspection criteria (e.g., IPC/WHMA-A-620, UL/CSA requirements) and experience supporting test plans and manufacturing release.
  • Experience creating clear engineering documentation (BOMs, change notices) and working with cross-functional teams to release production designs.


What Will Put You Ahead

  • 3+ years of hands-on wire harness/cable assembly and connector design experience in electronics product development or electronics manufacturing.
  • Experience with high-volume manufacturing scale-up, supplier qualification, and process control for cable harness production.

• Practical knowledge of crimping, soldering, overmolding, potting, shielding practices, and common connector types (board-mount, circular, rectangular, power, FFC/FPC) used in electronic products.
  • Background in EMI/EMC mitigation for cable/connector systems, including shielding topology, drain wires, and connector gaskets.
  • Experience specifying and validating harnesses for harsh environments (temperature cycling, ingress protection, salt spray, vibration/shock) and supporting regulatory or industry certifications.
  • Experience with PDM/PLM systems, structured change control (ECOs), and scripting/automation to generate BOMs and harness cut-lists.
  • IPC/WHMA-A-620 design experience, supplier auditing experience, or prior work in automotive/aerospace/industrial electronics domains.


At Koch companies, we are entrepreneurs. This means we openly challenge the status quo, find new ways to create value and get rewarded for our individual contributions. Any compensation range provided for a role is an estimate determined by available market data. The actual amount may be higher or lower than the range provided considering each candidate's knowledge, skills, abilities, and geographic location. If you have questions, please speak to your recruiter about the flexibility and detail of our compensation philosophy.

Hiring Philosophy

All Koch companies value diversity of thought, perspectives, aptitudes, experiences, and backgrounds. We are Military Ready and Second Chance employers. Learn more about our hiring philosophy here .

Our Benefits

Our goal is for each employee, and their families, to live fulfilling and healthy lives. We provide essential resources and support to build and maintain physical, financial, and emotional strength - focusing on overall wellbeing so you can focus on what matters most. Our benefits plan includes - medical, dental, vision, flexible spending and health savings accounts, life insurance, ADD, disability, retirement, paid vacation/time off, educational assistance, and may also include infertility assistance, paid parental leave and adoption assistance. Specific eligibility criteria is set by the applicable Summary Plan Description, policy or guideline and benefits may vary by geographic region. If you have questions on what benefits apply to you, please speak to your recruiter.

Additionally, everyone has individual work and personal needs. We seek to enable the best work environment that helps you and the business work together to produce superior results.

About Koch Industries

Koch Industries, Inc. is an American privately-held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas. Its subsidiaries are involved in the manufacturing, refining, and distribution of petroleum, chemicals, energy, fiber, intermediates and polymers, minerals, fertilizers, pulp and paper, chemical technology equipment, ranching, finance, commodities trading, and investing. Koch owns Infor, Invista, Georgia-Pacific, Molex, Flint Hills Resources, Koch Pipeline, Koch Fertilizer, Koch Minerals, Matador Cattle Company, i360, and Guardian Industries. The firm employs 120,000 people in 60 countries, with about half of its business in the United States. The company is the largest non-Canadian landowner in the Athabasca oil sands. With annual revenues of $110 billion by 2014, the company is the largest privately held company in the United States. In 2007, it was ranked as the largest privately held company. If Koch Industries had been a public company in 2013, it would have ranked 17th in the Fortune 500. The company was founded by its namesake, Fred C. Koch, in 1940 after he developed an innovative crude oil refining process. Fred C. Koch died in 1967 and his majority interest in the company was split amongst his four sons. In June 1983, after a bitter legal and boardroom battle, the stakes of Frederick R. Koch and William "Bill" Koch were bought out for $1.1 billion and Charles Koch and David Koch became majority owners in the company. Charles owns 42% of the company; trusts for the benefit of Elaine Tettemer Marshall and Elaine's children, Preston Marshall and E. Pierce Marshall Jr., own 16% of the company. The heirs of David Koch, who died on August 23, 2019, own the balance, 42%, of the corporation.
Learn more about Koch Industries
Industry
Founded
1940

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