Senior Electrical Engineer - Zero Emission Bus

Senior Electrical Engineer - Zero Emission Bus

Pleasanton, CA

GILLIG is a leading transit bus manufacturer committed to zero-emission technology and sustainable mobility. From design to final assembly, GILLIG buses are built in Livermore, CA, with a focus on quality, reliability, and service.

DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

GILLIG Engineering develops, configures, and validates clean technology heavy-duty transit buses. Engineers design, analyze, test, launch, and solve problems across a wide range of technical areas.

Electrical Engineering covers designing and optimizing electrical systems and components, including low and high voltage power distribution, CANbus topology, infotainment/CAD/AVL & surveillance system integration to ensure safety, durability, and performance. The team collaborates across functions to meet regulatory standards and support production and cost-efficient designs for heavy-duty transit buses.

The Senior Electrical Engineer is a hands-on role responsible for transit bus electrical design. Responsibilities include requirements analysis, concept and detailed design, problem resolution, vehicle attribute design, BOM development, customer application research, and other duties related to designing and industrializing electrical systems for manufacturing heavy-duty transit buses. The role influences systems and components to optimize functionality and performance. This is a full-time on-site position reporting to the Head of Zero Emission Bus Platform, with guidance from staff/senior engineers.

Location:

Pleasanton, CA on-site.

TECHNICAL FOCUS

Power and Signal Distribution

Apply expertise to develop vehicle-based power and signal distribution through harnesses, devices, fusing, and connectors. Consider routing and environmental conditions for heavy-duty and automotive applications. Requires experience with low voltage (12/24 VDC) and high voltage (600 VDC, 240/480 VAC); experience with electrical harness manufacturing or industrial control systems is a plus.

IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL

• Create and maintain Bills of Materials (BOM) and participate in modular BOM structure for configuration efficiency.
• Gather information on supplier components and existing designs to optimize concepts.
• Use analytical tools to assess designs in power, grounding, circuit protection, harmonics, mechanical performance, and durability.
• Perform design trade-offs to develop robust, manufacturable concepts.
• Use ECAD tools to create, review, and release vehicle components, schematics, and harness assemblies.
• Navigate Customer & Design REI releases, BOM structuring, Change Control, Production Change Orders, and Engineered Production Changes.
• Support designs throughout the lifecycle (development, production launch, variant designs, customization, field support).
• Provide input with test engineers to create DVP&R, execute test plans, and review results.
• Contribute to technical publications; collaborate with mechanical, controls, and manufacturing engineers and production staff.
• Operate in a primary role, proposing solutions to more senior engineers or management for evaluation.

SCOPE OF THE ROLE

• Autonomy: Ability to work independently with review at critical points.
• Technically Minded: Apply industry practices and standards (NFPA, NEC, APTA) and advise others; leverage extensive experience to develop and resolve complex models and procedures.
• Time Management: Deliver projects on schedule and within budget.
• Communication: Collaborate across the organization; adapt style to audiences and communicate complex subjects effectively.
• Complexity: Address broad and highly complex assignments with creativity, initiative, judgment, and leadership; adapt approaches to resolve issues.
• Quality & Standards: Ensure technical documentation and released designs are accurate, manufacturable, serviceable, and meet objectives and customer requirements.

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering;
  Electrical Engineering preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of progressive engineering experience.
• Automotive/heavy-duty vehicle design familiarity; direct experience a plus.
• Fluent with BOM, documentation control, and revision management; experience with configure-to-order and modular BOM management a plus.
• Working knowledge of harness design and formboard drawing; fluency in CAD such as Zuken or Capital.
• Experience with component suppliers, engineering service, testing suppliers, and product validation engineers.
• Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Design for Service (DFS), and cost-efficiency experience.
• Hands-on troubleshooting, prototyping, testing, and validation on-site and remotely.
• Proficient with tools such as multimeters, power supplies, CANalyzer, and oscilloscopes; knowledge of electrical load analysis and redundancy planning for 12/24 V and 600 V or higher.
• Experience with automotive communication protocols (J1939, CAN, LIN, Ethernet) and diagnostics for signal integrity across vehicle control modules.
• Proficiency in wiring harness design/integration tools (AutoCAD Electrical,…