LV Wiring Harness - Design & Release Engineer

We are seeking a proactive and detail-oriented Low Voltage (LV) Wiring Harness Design Release Engineer (DRE) with a minimum of 3 years of automotive experience. In this role, you will be responsible for the end-to-end design, CAD packaging, electrical circuit integration, validation, and production release of low-voltage (12V/24V) wiring assemblies across vehicle platforms. You will serve as the primary technical link between vehicle packaging teams, electrical system owners, manufacturing assembly plants, and Tier-1 harness suppliers.

Key Responsibilities

1. Harness Design, 3D Packaging & 2D Engineering

• Design and route low-voltage (12V) wiring harnesses in 3D CAD environments (engine compartment, body, chassis, interior, door, instrument panel) ensuring clearance, bend radius, clip retention, and strain relief standards.
• Create and approve detailed 2D harness drawings (formboards/nailboards), defining connector part numbers, terminal sizes, wire gauges/colors, splice locations, coverings (corrugated tubing, tape, heat shrink), and grommet designs.
• Define and optimize circuit schematics, ground distribution, fuse/relay assignments, and inline connector strategy aligned with overall vehicle electrical architecture.

• Manage full engineering release lifecycle of wiring assemblies in PLM systems, publishing Engineering Change Notices (ECN/CN) and Bill of Materials (BOM).
• Conduct Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) reviews with harness suppliers and vehicle assembly plants to optimize ergonomics, clip insertion forces, and buildability.
• Select, validate, and standardize connectors, terminals, seals, and retention components (clips, studs, brackets).

• Develop and maintain harness-specific DFMEA (Design Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) and DVP&R (Design Verification Plan & Report).
• Direct harness supplier testing including electrical continuity, voltage drop, sealing performance, thermal cycle endurance, vibration, and flame resistance.
• Manage Tier-1 harness suppliers through Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) phases and grant technical sign-offs for PPAP submission.
• Perform structured root-cause analysis (8D, 5-Why, Fishbone) for harness issues identified on bench-top test boards, breadboards, or prototype vehicle builds.

• Support prototype and pre-production vehicle builds (Proto, Pilot, Pre-Series) on site at assembly plants to resolve routing interference, connector mis-mating, or length discrepancies.
• Collaborate with plant assembly operators to optimize harness dress-in, routing paths, and connector indexing during launch.