Lead Electrical Engineer – Biomedical Instrument Design & Assembly
Kent Scientific Corporation
Location: Fairview, Tennessee
Job Type: Full-time, on-site
Compensation: Competitive and based on experience
Travel: Initial travel to Torrington, Connecticut, will be required
Position Summary
Kent Scientific is seeking a hands-on Lead Electrical Engineer to lead the electrical design, assembly, testing, troubleshooting, and transfer of biomedical-instrument production to our Fairview, Tennessee facility.
This newly created position will be responsible for helping Kent Scientific transition the assembly of selected products from an external contract manufacturer to an internal assembly and testing operation. The selected engineer will initially work directly at the bench to learn, document, assemble, test, calibrate, troubleshoot, and improve existing products. The engineer will then help establish the equipment, documentation, quality controls, and technical team needed to support long-term production in Fairview.
This is not a desk-only engineering position. The successful candidate must be comfortable moving between circuit design, schematic and PCB review, soldering, wiring, complete instrument assembly, testing, calibration, troubleshooting, manufacturing documentation, and technical leadership.
Key Responsibilities Electrical Engineering and Product Design
- Design, analyze, troubleshoot, and improve analog and digital electronic systems used in biomedical research instruments.
- Develop and revise electrical schematics, PCB designs, wiring diagrams, cable assemblies, and electrical bills of materials.
- Work with sensors, signal-conditioning circuits, data-acquisition systems, embedded controllers, power supplies, displays, motors, pumps, valves, and communication interfaces.
- Select and qualify electronic components based on performance, reliability, availability, compatibility, and cost.
- Redesign circuits and assemblies when components become obsolete, unavailable, or unreliable.
- Build and evaluate prototypes for new products, product improvements, and component substitutions.
- Support design reviews, engineering changes, root-cause investigations, and verification testing.
- Collaborate on enclosure design, component mounting, connector placement, thermal management, and overall electromechanical integration.
- Improve product reliability, manufacturability, serviceability, safety, and cost effectiveness.
Hands-On Assembly, Testing, and Troubleshooting
- Personally assemble, solder, wire, test, calibrate, troubleshoot, and repair biomedical and electromechanical instruments.
- Install and integrate printed circuit boards, sensors, wiring harnesses, connectors, displays, power supplies, pumps, valves, tubing, and mechanical components.
- Build prototypes, cable assemblies, test fixtures, assembly tools, and production aids.
- Perform final system integration, functional testing, calibration, inspection, and product verification.
- Use oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, signal generators, and other diagnostic equipment to identify circuit- and system-level problems.
- Diagnose electrical, mechanical, pneumatic, firmware, software, and complete-system failures.
- Investigate recurring assembly or product-performance problems and implement corrective actions.
- Document test results, repairs, nonconformances, and corrective actions.
Manufacturing Transfer
- Lead the technical transfer of selected Kent Scientific product assembly from the current contract manufacturer to the Fairview facility.
- Travel to Torrington, Connecticut, during the initial training and knowledge-transfer period.
- Learn and document each product’s assembly, wiring, programming, testing, calibration, inspection, packaging, and repair requirements.
- Review existing schematics, drawings, bills of materials, work instructions, tooling, fixtures, test equipment, and quality records.
- Identify missing, outdated, or incomplete manufacturing documentation.
- Coordinate the transfer of product knowledge, test equipment, tooling, fixtures, approved components, and manufacturing records.
- Establish the workstations, tools, equipment, inventory, test fixtures, and quality checkpoints required for internal production.
- Conduct pilot builds and verify that internally assembled products meet established quality and performance requirements.
- Support a phased transition that maintains product availability, quality, and customer service.
Process and Quality Development
- Create clear, repeatable, revision-controlled assembly instructions.
- Develop test procedures, calibration protocols, inspection criteria, acceptance standards, and troubleshooting guides.
- Maintain accurate engineering drawings, schematics, bills of materials, and product configuration records.
- Establish processes for component traceability, nonconforming materials, rework, repairs, and corrective actions.
- Support engineering change control and document-control processes.
- Identify production bottlenecks and implement practical improvements.
- Collaborate with purchasing to evaluate suppliers, replacement components, lead times, and material costs.
- Support cost-reduction initiatives without compromising product quality, safety, or performance.
Technical Leadership and Team Development
- Help recruit, train, and develop electromechanical assembly technicians as production is brought in-house.
- Provide hands-on training in soldering, wiring, instrument assembly, testing, calibration, inspection, and troubleshooting.
- Develop training materials and competency-verification requirements.
- Provide daily technical direction and support to assembly employees.
- Help coordinate production schedules, priorities, testing, and repairs as the department grows.
- Promote strong workmanship, accountability, accurate documentation, and continuous improvement.
- Collaborate with engineering, purchasing, inventory, quality, technical support, customer service, and company leadership.
- Potentially advance into formal management of the biomedical-instrument assembly operation.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, electronics engineering, biomedical engineering with a strong electrical concentration, or a closely related field.
- Hands-on experience designing, assembling, testing, servicing, or manufacturing biomedical, medical, laboratory, or scientific instruments.
- Strong knowledge of analog and digital electronics, sensors, signal conditioning, data acquisition, power supplies, and electromechanical systems.
- Ability to read, create, and revise electrical schematics, wiring diagrams, engineering drawings, and bills of materials.
- Experience troubleshooting printed circuit boards and complete electromechanical systems.
- Proficiency with soldering, wiring, cable assembly, mechanical assembly, and precision hand tools.
- Experience using oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, signal generators, and related test equipment.
- Experience creating work instructions, test procedures, technical documentation, and engineering change records.
- Ability to troubleshoot complex failures systematically and identify root causes.
- Strong organizational, communication, documentation, and project-management skills.
- Ability to work independently and take ownership of a significant manufacturing transition.
- Willingness and ability to travel to Connecticut during the initial knowledge-transfer period.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with physiological monitoring, electrophysiology, anesthesia, ventilation, surgical, or related biomedical research instruments.
- Experience with preclinical or animal-research equipment.
- Experience transferring products from a contract manufacturer to an internal production facility.
- PCB design, modification, layout, or component-level repair experience.
- Experience with embedded systems, microcontrollers, firmware, or communication protocols.
- Knowledge of miniature pumps, valves, tubing, regulators, pneumatic systems, and pressure sensors.
- Experience with design verification, calibration, risk management, and quality systems.
- Knowledge of design for manufacturability and assembly.
- Experience with product lifecycle management, component-obsolescence management, and new-product introduction.
- Experience training or leading assembly technicians.
- Familiarity with ERP systems, inventory control, revision control, and engineering change orders.
- Mechanical design experience using SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor, or similar CAD software.
Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate is a practical electrical engineer, builder, and technical leader. This person should be equally comfortable troubleshooting a circuit, revising a schematic, soldering a PCB, assembling a complete biomedical instrument, developing a test fixture, documenting a production process, and training an assembly technician.
The successful candidate will take meaningful ownership of the manufacturing transfer and help Kent Scientific establish the people, equipment, documentation, processes, and quality controls required for a dependable internal assembly operation.
Physical and Work Requirements
- Ability to work on-site in Fairview, Tennessee.
- Ability to travel to Torrington, Connecticut, as required during the initial training period.
- Manual dexterity and visual accuracy necessary for detailed soldering, wiring, assembly, and inspection.
- Ability to sit or stand at an engineering or assembly workstation for extended periods.
- Ability to safely lift and move equipment or components weighing up to approximately 40 pounds.
- Ability to follow applicable electrical, manufacturing, laboratory, and workplace safety procedures.
Work Authorization
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Kent Scientific is unable to provide employment-based visa sponsorship now or in the future.
About Kent Scientific
Kent Scientific develops and supplies specialized instruments for preclinical and life-science research. Our products support applications involving physiological monitoring, electrophysiology, anesthesia, ventilation, surgical preparation, and other biomedical research activities.
Kent Scientific is expanding its Fairview, Tennessee, operations by establishing internal biomedical-instrument assembly and testing capabilities. We are committed to producing dependable instruments and providing responsive technical support and practical solutions to the scientific research community.
Kent Scientific is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, experience, merit, and business needs without regard to any status protected by applicable law.
Pay: $72,000.00 - $85,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Flexible schedule
Work Location: In person
