Electrical Engineer

SAIC is seeking a Senior Electrical Engineer with deep experience troubleshooting and supporting Hardware‑in‑the‑Loop (HWIL) test environments. The selected candidate will play a crucial role in the development, integration, and test of a next‑generation Hypersonic Missile System, supporting real‑time test operations, electrical diagnostics, and weapon‑system‑level performance verification.

This position requires on‑site support at NSWC Crane to enable hands‑on work with lab hardware, missile subsystem interfaces, and high‑fidelity real‑time simulation equipment.

Key Responsibilities:

HWIL System Troubleshooting & Diagnostics

• Diagnose and resolve issues within complex HWIL testbeds involving sensors, avionics, embedded computing, and closed‑loop weapon‑system interfaces.
• Identify root causes related to component failures, degraded signals, hardware performance, or timing anomalies.
• Conduct detailed fault isolation across interconnected hardware, simulation nodes, and networked weapon‑system components.

Electrical Checkout & Hardware Validation

• Perform electrical verification tasks including: 
  • Identification of loose or intermittent connections
  • Troubleshooting faulty or damaged wiring/cabling
  • Evaluating line integrity, grounding, shielding, and signal quality
• Support integration of new missile subsystems, instrumentation, and test rack hardware.

Network Analysis & Weapon‑System Communication Troubleshooting

• Analyze and verify complex system networks to ensure correct signal transmission, data routing, and message integrity across real‑time simulation components.
• Develop an operational understanding of weapon‑system networking architectures, including component interfaces, comms pathways, and timing requirements.
• Support protocols commonly used in real‑time missile and DoD systems (e.g., Ethernet, deterministic real‑time protocols, serial interfaces, MIL‑STD data links, etc.).

Real‑Time Execution Performance Analysis

• Diagnose causes of simulation overruns, delayed model execution, and desynchronization between hardware devices, sensors, and real‑time compute nodes.
• Monitor and analyze real‑time model execution timelines.
• Resolve timing issues affecting weapon‑system‑level closed‑loop simulations.

Documentation, Collaboration & Lab Support

• Document troubleshooting steps, root causes, and corrective actions.
• Collaborate closely with system engineers, software developers, real‑time modelers, and test operators.
• Support test readiness reviews, lab configuration updates, and integration events for the hypersonic program.