Electrical Systems Design Engineer – Defense Prototyping

Design systems that move from concept to the field—fast Kform is a next‑generation defense manufacturer partnering with leading defense and dual‑use startups to transform advanced ideas into production‑ready hardware. We span design, engineering, prototyping, manufacturing, quality, and production readiness so critical products make it from whiteboard to real‑world use.

If you thrive on building, learning at speed, and delivering under demanding timelines, you’ll fit right in. Our customers can’t wait years—our work helps them win in weeks.

A day in this role Morning: you sketch a concept, jump into CAD, translate it into an ECAD design in Altium, and align on interfaces with embedded teammates. Midday: you’re on the bench with a prototype—probing signals, iterating layouts, and capturing test notes. Afternoon: you walk the shop floor to gather manufacturability feedback, update documentation, and brief suppliers. Before you wrap: you push a design review, mentor a junior engineer through a debug plan, and log lessons learned so production can move cleanly.

What you’ll tackle

Own end‑to‑end development of multidisciplinary hardware: mechanical subassemblies, electronic architectures, embedded controls, fixtures, test assets, and production‑ready components.

Design electronics in ECAD (primarily Altium), collaborating tightly with mechanical and firmware teams.

Bridge decisions across mechanical, electrical, software, manufacturing, and quality to optimize the full system.

Rapidly prototype proof‑of‑concepts using hands‑on fabrication, electronics, test equipment, and iterative build‑measure‑learn loops.

Develop, integrate, or support embedded software to connect electromechanical systems into functioning prototypes and products.

Plan and execute verification for performance, reliability, durability, manufacturability, and safety—then analyze results, isolate failure modes, and drive evidence‑based design changes.

Create clear documentation of intent, revisions, test results, tradeoffs, and lessons so designs transfer smoothly into production.

Partner with manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and program teams to improve designs for manufacturability, assembly, inspection, cost, schedule, and reliability.

Model strong engineering practice while mentoring junior teammates in problem solving, documentation, and ownership.

Independently lead smaller projects from ambiguous requirements to delivered outcomes.

Continuously improve Kform’s engineering and manufacturing systems.

Who will excel

You bring deep technical strength in one core discipline—often electrical or mechanical—and genuine curiosity across the rest. You like to understand the entire machine, make smart tradeoffs with imperfect data, and turn ambiguity into momentum. You can:

Develop designs at a workstation and reason through schematics and system implications.

Debug prototypes methodically at the bench.

Walk the production floor to capture actionable feedback.

Inspect parts, run tests, and communicate your reasoning clearly.

Best fits are curious, practical, disciplined, and biased toward action.

Minimum qualifications

Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or related technical field.
3–5 years in product design, hardware development, prototyping, test, or multidisciplinary engineering.

Strong capability in at least one core discipline (ideally electrical or mechanical).Working knowledge spanning embedded software, electronics, mechanical design, manufacturing, quality, test, and systems integration.

Advanced proficiency in Altium or a comparable primary design tool.

Hands‑on experience with rapid prototyping, fabrication tools, electronics, test equipment, and physical hardware.

Clear documentation skills across design intent, revisions, results, and decisions.

Proven problem solving and the ability to operate independently within a multidisciplinary team.

Preferred qualifications

Early‑stage, founding, or high‑ownership startup experience.

Background in defense, aerospace, robotics, industrial automation, advanced manufacturing, or other regulated sectors.

Familiarity with AS9100, quality systems, configuration control, production…