Electrical Engineer

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, with offices in Stuttgart, Germany, Shaper was founded in 2012 with a mission of making precision cutting easy and accessible to craftspeople everywhere. In pursuit of that goal, Shaper developed Origin, the world's first handheld CNC router. Today, Shaper supports thousands of woodworkers and craftspeople around the globe with an expanding range of hardware and software tools that are designed to intuitively meet users' creative needs.

We’re looking for an exceptional Electrical Engineer with 2 or more years of experience to join our Hardware Engineering Team.

About this role

As an Electrical Engineer at Shaper you will join a cross functional team of subject-matter experts to design robotic power tools that will be used by craftspeople around the world. In this role, you will be expected to execute on the entirety of the electrical product design lifecycle: product inception, design, prototyping, validation, reliability, manufacturing, and sustaining development. You will collaborate closely with our product, manufacturing, mechanical, software, and operations colleagues as well as external component suppliers, distributors, and contract manufacturers. Your work will include the design of in-house validation electronics, proof-of-concept prototypes, and mass-production-ready electronics for use in Shaper products that ship to customers around the world.

Where You'll Work

You’ll join our team in our new workspace in San Francisco's SoMa district. You’ll have access to our 5000 square foot workshop which is fully kitted out with all the woodworking machinery you could ever wish for (including Origin). This role will be on-site at our San Francisco office, but is flexible - you can work from home on days when, for example, you don’t need to interact with hardware/fixtures at the office. You’ll work with your manager on identifying when you are required on-site. This role may involve travel to manufacturing sites in Europe and Asia up to 10% per year.

• Implement novel electronic designs for new products, prototypes, and factory fixtures.
• Debug, build, and rework PCBAs, cable harnesses, test fixtures and more using standard laboratory equipment (Soldering/rework station, oscilloscopes, DMMs, spectrum analyzers, etc)
• Design rigid and flex PCBAs from concept to completion (footprint/symbol design, schematic capture, part selection, board layout, test development, validation, and manufacturing support). We use Altium Designer as our ECAD software.
• Execute DOEs (Design of Experiment) for things ranging from prototype EMI compliance to factory assembly procedures and alternate part validations.
• Write testing software to automate analysis of your designs and to implement test fixture functionality (Python, Micropython, Bash, C++, Arduino).
• Interface directly with the Shaper mechanical team on MCOs, manufacturability, and system integration.
• Interface directly with the Shaper embedded software team. Build hardware with the software use-cases front-of-mind.
• Perform electrical validation on PCBAs and electromechanical validation on higher level assemblies.
• Become an expert on the variety of safety and certification standards that apply to our products (FCC, RED, RoHS, Reach, Prop 65,  IEC/UL/CSA, etc) and design products that exceed those standards. Coordinate and execute simulations and real-world tests of our products including but not limited to EMC testing, functional safety testing, vibration testing, environmental testing, etc.
• Write excellent documentation, including annotated fabrication/assembly drawings, manufacturing instructions, test directions, architecture block diagrams, bug reports, etc.
• Use Git-Based version control for hardware and software version control and collaboration.

• Experience doing schematic capture and PCB layout of digital and analog systems
• Have designed production-quality circuit boards
• Experience validating custom PCBAs and electromechanical assemblies
• Strong laboratory skills and practices
• Comfort using electrical validation hardware (oscilloscopes, power supply, programmable load, spectrum analyzer, etc.)
• A strong understanding of fundamental E&M concepts, analog circuit design, digital logic, and computer architecture design
• Experience with robotics (mechatronics, control systems design/algorithms, sensors)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (English)
• Familiarity working with microcontroller systems (like Arduino or bare metal 8-bit, 16-bit, or 32-bit ARM MCUs)
• Experience in working with embedded Linux systems like the Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone (ARM A-Class application processors)
• Excellent at hand-soldering, down to 0201-sized passive components
• Good problem solving and debugging skills
• You’re excited to explore an entirely new field and develop products that real users will depend on!

• Experienced in  working with Altium Designer
• Experience with MCAD tools (Creo, Fusion 360, etc.)
• Experience writing Python and working in existing codebases
• Experience working with Yocto and application processors
• Passing knowledge of thermal management in PCBs/electromechanical assemblies
• You like building things with your hands
• You have familiarity with FCC/IC/CISPR EMC regulations.
• You have worked on the certifications for a hardware product.
• You have experience interfacing computer vision hardware into your designs.
• You’ve shipped one or more consumer hardware products that included embedded systems.
• You have spent time working with engineers on-site at a contract manufacturing site or at an SMT site.
• You understand basic control theory and some basic computer vision algorithms.

• Take what you need vacation and sick leave policy
• Generous medical, dental, and vision benefits for employee and dependents
• Generous parental leave
• 401k plan with matching
• Employee discounts on Shaper’s products and our partner brands

Important Note

Although we do our best to list everything we are looking for in a candidate, we are very likely missing skills and/or attributes that could make you a great fit for the role. Research has shown that women and other marginalized groups are less likely to apply if they don’t clearly meet every requirement. This means we both might miss out on a great opportunity—it never hurts to take a chance and apply!