{"id":1993693,"url":"https://alion.io/job/freeform-principal-electrical-engineer-hardware-design","title":"Principal Electrical Engineer (Hardware Design)","company":{"id":3863606,"name":"Freeform","domain":"freeform.co","url":"https://alion.io/company/freeform-4","size_band":"1001-5000","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Greenhouse","truth_index":{"grade":"C","score":69,"open_postings":76,"ghost_share":0.513,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-10-14T06:34:16Z"}},"role":"Hardware","role_family":"Hardware","seniority":"lead","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"structured","locations":["Los Angeles, United States","El Segundo, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":250000,"max":400000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":400000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":15,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-07-07T20:36:59Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-10-06","last_verified_at":"2026-10-14T03:03:08Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":98,"trust":{"level":"ghost","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale","company_stale"],"days_open":98},"description":"PRINCIPAL ELECTRICAL ENGINEER (HARDWARE DESIGN)\nFreeform builds AI-native manufacturing systems that unify software, hardware, and physics to produce industrial-scale parts at the speed of human ideation. By treating manufacturing as a single integrated system, we unlock a new era of innovation where complex hardware is designed, built, and scaled without limits.\nAs a Principal Electrical Engineer at Freeform, you will play an integral role in the design and development of custom electronics and compute systems that bring our AI-native metal 3D printing factory systems to life. You will solve challenging problems in fields such as high-performance compute, high speed communications, embedded hardware, motion control, autonomous robotic systems, and much more. You will use a first principles approach to solving problems and tackling new areas within electrical engineering that you may not have directly worked on before. The ideal candidate is capable of running projects from cradle to grave, acting as a technical lead, and has the ability to work effectively with other engineering disciplines.\n3D printing experience is not required to be successful here - rather we look for smart, motivated, collaborative engineers who love solving hard problems and creating amazing technology!\n\nResponsibilities: \nRapidly design, develop and test highly reliable electronics and compute systems that enable complex autonomous systems to perform reliability, repeatedly, and scalable \nServe as the senior engineer on the team, driving technical direction, electrical architecture, product requirements, component selection, analysis, schematic capture, prototyping, bring-up, debugging, documentation, productization, manufacturing, and testing\nChallenge assumptions and learn new design approaches\nDrive component selection, analysis, schematic capture, prototyping, bring-up, debugging, documentation, manufacturing, and test\nHands-on debugging of the unexpected via the use of laboratory test equipment, custom instrumentation, and testing setups\nModel and simulate circuit designs for analysis and performance\nAct as a technical lead, driving schedule and ensuring a continuous rate of innovation\nBasic Qualifications: \nBachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or similar engineering discipline\n15+ years of professional experience designing and delivering complex electrical hardware\nBroad electrical engineering background; well versed in electrical engineering fundamentals and comfortable taking a first-principles approach to solving problems\nExperience operating as a technical lead and system owner, responsible for architectural decisions, execution quality, and technical accountability across the full lifecycle\nNice to Have: \nAdvanced degree (Master's or PhD) in electrical engineering\nExperience with heterogeneous compute environments, including FPGA, GPU, and mixed architecture systems, with the ability to make thoughtful tradeoffs across performance, latency, and system complexity.\nExperience with sensors, high speed cameras/imaging systems, and similar physical telemetry systems\nExperience with embedded microcontroller design and firmware\nExperience with high-speed data acquisition systems, high-accuracy motion systems, high-speed scanning systems, optomechanical assemblies, and complex electromechanical systems\nFamiliarity with industrial automation technologies and robotics\nLocation: \nBased in Hawthorne, our vertically integrated facility brings technology development, R&D, and production together under one roof. We operate at the center of LA’s deep tech ecosystem, surrounded by some of the most ambitious hardware innovation happening anywhere in the country.\n\nOur fast-paced, cross-functional environment is built on close collaboration, and as such, this role requires full-time onsite presence (five days a week), with very limited exceptions.\n\nWhat We Offer: \nWe have an inclusive and diverse culture that values collaboration, learning, and making deliberate data-driven decisions. \nWe offer a unique opportunity to be an early and integral member of a rapidly growing company that is scaling a world-changing technology. \nBenefits Significant stock option packages \n100% employer-paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance (premium PPO and HMO options) \nLife insurance \nTraditional and Roth 401(k) \nRelocation assistance provided \nPaid vacation, sick leave, and company holidays \nGenerous Paid Parental Leave and extended transition back to work for the birthing parent \nFree daily catered lunch and dinner, and fully stocked kitchenette \nCasual dress, flexible work hours, and regular catered team building events \n\nCompensation Our intent is to offer a salary that is commensurate for the company’s current stage of development and allows the employee to grow and develop within a role. \nIn addition to the significant stock option package, the estimated salary range for this role is $250,000-$400,000. However this is a uniquely impactful role and we are open to discussing compensation packages outside of this range for the right person. \n\nFreeform is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values diversity; employment with Freeform is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.","description_format":"text","description_chars":5538,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":15,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Flexible schedule","Life insurance","Parental leave","Relocation assistance","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":true,"industries":[],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-10-07T08:04:06Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":10,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.277,"p_room":0.35,"age_days":98,"expected_fill_days":29,"reasons":["conf:3","stale_co","ghost","win:tail"],"computed_at":"2026-10-14T06:34:16Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":400000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/freeform-principal-electrical-engineer-hardware-design","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/freeform-principal-electrical-engineer-hardware-design.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-14T06:53:25Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":8227,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-15T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":3863606},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=3863606"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Ffreeform-principal-electrical-engineer-hardware-design"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Ffreeform-principal-electrical-engineer-hardware-design"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Ffreeform-principal-electrical-engineer-hardware-design"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/freeform-principal-electrical-engineer-hardware-design\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Ffreeform-principal-electrical-engineer-hardware-design"}]}