Electrical Systems Engineering (E/E)

Electrical / Electronic Systems Engineering (E/E) is the logical capability of designing the electrical and electronic architecture of a product — wiring harnesses, control units (ECUs), power distribution, network topologies (CAN, LIN, FlexRay, Ethernet), and the software allocations that ride on them. It links the system requirements down to the physical wires and the manufacturing forms (formboards, breakouts) and back up to verification.

What it covers

• Logical architecture — functions, signals, and ECU allocations.
• Network design — bus topology, gateways, message catalogs.
• Wiring harness design — physical schematics, harness 3D routing, formboards.
• Manufacturing engineering — KSK / variant resolution, supplier handoff, costing.
• Cross-domain integration with mechanical CAD, MBSE, and software ALM.

Relationships (see sidebar)

• Supports the Systems Engineering, Detailed Design, and Requirements Management processes.
• Implemented by systems like Siemens Capital (the dominant E/E suite at automotive and aerospace OEMs).
• Closely coupled with MBSE for the system-level allocation and with CAD 3D Design for harness 3D routing in the vehicle.