Electrical Engineer - General

Come build what doesn’t exist yet.

You like understanding what makes a product work. A circuit, a sensor, a board, an entire system - you want to understand what it needs to do, how the pieces connect, and what happens when you turn it on.

You enjoy turning ideas into working hardware. That might mean sketching a circuit, selecting components, designing a board, bringing up a prototype, or tracking down a signal that isn’t behaving the way you expected.

You find satisfaction in making something work - and understanding why it works.

If that sounds familiar, we’d like to get to know you.The engineer we’d like to meet Your experience might come from school projects, personal builds, a first engineering role, or years spent developing electronics and complex systems. Wherever you are in that journey, we’re interested in how you think, what you’ve worked on, and what you want to learn next.

You’re curious and methodical. You ask questions before committing to a design, make thoughtful choices, and test your assumptions. When something behaves unexpectedly, you want to investigate.

You care about the details: component choices, clear schematics, board layout, interfaces, power, and how a design will be built and tested. You also want to understand how those decisions affect the whole product.

You take responsibility for your work and communicate when something needs attention. You’re comfortable saying, “I don’t know yet,” and helping figure out the next step. You can explain your thinking, listen to another approach, and share what you learn.The work that gets your attention At Backburner Labs, electrical engineers work with mechanical, software, controls, and manufacturing teammates to bring physical products to life. Our work spans medical devices, robotics, industrial automation, and connected products.

Depending on your interests and experience, you might recognize yourself in some of these areas:

• Analog, digital, and mixed-signal circuit design.
• Schematic development, component selection, and PCB design.
• Embedded hardware, sensors, and communication interfaces.
• Power management and battery-powered devices.
• Wireless and connected electronics.
• Board bring-up, measurement, testing, and troubleshooting.
• Integrating electronics with firmware, mechanical systems, and controls.
• Helping a prototype become something that can be manufactured, tested, and supported.

You don’t need experience in every area. We want to understand where you already contribute, where you have depth, and where you’re eager to grow.How you like to work You enjoy being close to the hardware. Design work connects with time at the bench, where measurements and testing help you understand what is actually happening.

You’re interested in the connections between disciplines. A mechanical decision can affect board space or connector placement. Firmware behavior can change how you investigate a hardware problem. Manufacturing feedback can reveal a better way to build or test a design.

You enjoy working through those questions with other people.

Projects may begin with incomplete requirements or several possible approaches. You help turn that uncertainty into useful questions, practical experiments, and informed decisions. You document what matters so others can understand, build, test, and improve the work.

Our work is hands-on and primarily in person in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area.Let’s start with what you’ve built Tell us about something you designed, tested, debugged, or helped bring to life. What was the problem? What part did you play? What surprised you, and what did you learn?

Early in your career, that story might come from a class, a student team, an internship, or a personal project. With more experience, it might involve a difficult design tradeoff, a persistent hardware problem, bringing a product into production, or helping other engineers develop their judgment.

This profile gives us a way to connect with electrical engineers across experience levels as opportunities develop. Tell us what interests you about Backburner Labs and the work you’d like to do next.