Electronics Technician

About the role

9 Mothers builds robotic weapons systems — including EDDA, a robotic shotgun turret for counter-UAS, and a proprietary belt-fed shotgun platform. Every prototype we field is an electromechanical system full of cable harnesses, wired compute and control boxes, and custom PCBAs. Today, that build work is done by mechanical engineers and engineering management. That stops with this hire. This role owns hands-on electronics fabrication for the company: building cables and harnesses, wiring compute and control enclosures, and reworking PCBAs.

Responsibilities

• Build cables and wire harnesses from schematics, harness drawings, or an engineer’s sketch — cut, strip, crimp, solder, pin, and pot as required
• Work across connector families common to robotic and vehicle systems: circular/mil-spec connectors, D-subs, Molex/JST/board-level connectors, RF/coax, and power connectors, using correct tooling for each
• Label, sleeve, and strain-relieve harnesses for hard use on outdoor, live-fire robotic platforms — vibration, heat, dust, and repeated teardown
• Verify every build: continuity, pinout, insulation resistance / hipot where appropriate; capture as-builts and redline drawings so the next build is faster
• Box Builds & System Wiring: Panel layout, component mounting, power distribution, wire routing and dressing, grounding and shielding
• Perform point-to-point checkout and initial power-up checks before handing boxes to engineering for bring-up
• Build repeatably — when we need the second and third unit, they should match the first
• Rework & Repair: Rework and repair PCBAs: component replacement (through-hole and SMT), ECO / blue-wire modifications, connector replacement, and conformal coating touch-up
• Test Setups & Fixtures: Build and run simple electrical test setups: cable life/flex testing, actuator test fixtures, breakout boxes, load banks, and long-duration soak tests
• Instrument tests, log results, and report failures with enough detail that engineering can act on them
• Maintain the electronics lab: test equipment, soldering stations, crimp tooling, and stock of wire, connectors, and consumables
• Field Support: Travel to test ranges when needed to repair harnesses, boxes, and electronics on deployed systems and support live-fire test events
• Work safely around firearms and an active belt-fed shotgun platform, with disciplined adherence to range safety protocols

Requirements

• 5+ years of hands-on experience as an electronics technician, electrical assembler, or similar role building and repairing complex electromechanical hardware — robotics, aerospace, defense, automotive, test equipment, or industrial systems
• Expert-level cable and harness fabrication: crimping, soldering, pinning, and the judgment to pick the right connector, wire gauge, and strain relief for the application
• Proficient soldering and rework skills, including SMT component replacement
• Able to read and work from schematics, wiring diagrams, and harness drawings — and to build sensibly from an engineer’s verbal description or sketch when a drawing doesn’t exist yet
• Cumptent with standard bench equipment: DMM, oscilloscope, power supplies; able to trace electrical faults methodically
• Meticulous workmanship and documentation habits: labeling, as-builts, redlines, test records
• Comfortable working around firearms and live-fire operations, and willing to travel occasionally to test ranges in central Texas conditions (heat, dust, outdoor work)
• US person (citizen or lawful permanent resident) — required for ITAR compliance

Nice-to-have

• IPC/WHMA-A-620 (cable and harness), IPC-A-610, or J-STD-001 certification — or demonstrably equivalent workmanship
• Military electronics maintenance background (avionics, armament, ground systems, or similar MOS)
• Experience designing and fabricating simple test fixtures, including basic mechanical work — drilling, tapping, 3D printing, panel fabrication
• Familiarity with motors, servos, actuators, and motion-control wiring on robotic systems
• Experience with data logging or basic scripting (e.g., Python) for automated or long-duration tests