Avionics Engineer

Samson Rose; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Samson Rose is seeking an Avionics Engineer to design and develop flight-critical PCBAs, harnesses, and avionics hardware for next‑generation aircraft. You will craft electrical schematics, fabrication drawings, and ICDs while supporting embedded firmware and system integration in a hands‑on, fast‑paced environment.

The role requires ownership from concept through integration, with hands‑on soldering, testing, and flight‑test support.

Qualifications

• 2+ years in avionics, electrical engineering, embedded systems, robotics, or related field.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical field.
• Experience with PCB design and EDA tools such as Altium Designer or Cadence.
• Understanding of circuit analysis and simulation, including hand calculations and/or SPICE.
• Hands-on experience building electrical assemblies, including PCB soldering, wire splicing, crimping, harness termination, and PCBA coating/protection.
• Experience developing embedded firmware for hardware or flight systems using Embedded C, Python, or similar languages.
• Experience testing electrical hardware at the component, assembly, or system level, including test planning, procedures, and data analysis.
• Strong engineering fundamentals and the ability to take ownership of technical tasks from design through implementation.
• Comfortable working hands-on in a fast-paced prototype development environment with changing priorities.
• Ability to work 100% onsite in the Los Angeles Metro Area.
• U.S. citizenship or qualifying U.S. residency status to access export-controlled technology. A security clearance is not required.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop flight-critical PCBAs, electrical harnesses, and supporting avionics hardware.
• Develop electrical designs, schematics, fabrication drawings, and assembly documentation for PCBAs and harnesses.
• Support embedded firmware development and create detailed ICDs for custom avionics hardware.
• Perform circuit analysis, power budgeting, component derating, and other electrical engineering analyses to support system integration.
• Develop test plans and procedures for hardware bring-up, design validation, and acceptance testing.
• Participate in hands-on fabrication, soldering, harness assembly, and integration of avionics systems into aircraft.
• Support testing and evaluation of COTS hardware, including electrical components, motors, and thermal systems.
• Review hardware test data, troubleshoot issues, and support design improvements throughout development.
• Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, software, and aerospace engineering teams to resolve integration challenges.
• Participate in ground and flight-test operations, including travel to test ranges and supporting end-to-end testing activities.

Skills

PCB design

Embedded firmware

Electrical design

System integration

Circuit analysis

Hands-on hardware

Team collaboration

Electrical harnessing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Master's degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

Cadence Allegro

SPICE

EDA tools

Job description

About the Company

Our client is an innovative aerospace technology company developing next-generation aircraft and advanced flight systems for defense and commercial applications. The company combines aerospace engineering, propulsion, electronics, and advanced hardware technologies to develop high-performance aviation platforms.

Operating in a fast-paced, venture-backed environment, the company is advancing multiple aircraft development programs and working closely with defense customers to bring new technologies from concept and development through integration and flight testing.

The Role

Our client is seeking an Avionics Engineer to support the design, development, integration, and testing of avionics systems for its next-generation aircraft.

This role spans flight-critical electronics, PCB design, electrical harnessing, embedded firmware, hardware integration, and system validation. You will contribute to the development of custom avionics hardware, taking designs from initial requirements and circuit development through fabrication, assembly, integration, and testing.

The position is highly hands‑on and combines electrical engineering design with hardware development and system integration. You will work closely with a multidisciplinary engineering team, supporting everything from PCB and harness development to component testing, hardware assembly, and flight-test operations.

What You'll Own

• Design and develop flight-critical printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs), electrical harnesses, and supporting avionics hardware.
• Develop electrical designs, schematics, fabrication drawings, and assembly documentation for PCBAs and harnesses.
• Support embedded firmware development and create detailed interface control documents (ICDs) for custom avionics hardware.
• Perform circuit analysis, power budgeting, component derating, and other electrical engineering analyses to support system integration.
• Develop test plans and procedures for hardware bring-up, design validation, and acceptance testing.
• Participate in hands‑on fabrication, soldering, harness assembly, and integration of avionics systems into aircraft.
• Support testing and evaluation of commercial off‑the‑shelf (COTS) hardware, including electrical components, motors, and thermal systems.
• Review hardware test data, troubleshoot issues, and support design improvements throughout development.
• Collaborate with mechanical, electrical, software, and aerospace engineering teams to resolve integration challenges.
• Participate in ground and flight-test operations, including travel to test ranges and supporting end‑to‑end testing activities.

What You'll Need

• 2+ years of experience in avionics, electrical engineering, embedded systems, robotics, aerospace hardware, or a closely related discipline.
• Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Experience with PCB design and electronic design automation (EDA) tools such as Altium Designer, Cadence Allegro, or equivalent.
• Understanding of circuit analysis and simulation, including hand calculations and/or SPICE.
• Hands‑on experience building electrical assemblies, including PCB soldering, wire splicing, crimping, harness termination, and PCBA coating or protection.
• Experience developing embedded firmware for hardware or flight systems using Embedded C, Python, or similar languages.
• Experience testing electrical hardware at the component, assembly, or system level, including test planning, procedures, and data analysis.
• Strong engineering fundamentals and the ability to take ownership of technical tasks from design through implementation.
• Comfortable working hands‑on in a fast‑paced prototype development environment with changing priorities.
• Ability to work 100% onsite in the Los Angeles Metro Area.
• U.S. citizenship or qualifying U.S. residency status to access export‑controlled technology. A security clearance is not required.

Nice to Have

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline.
• Experience with electrical harness design tools such as RapidHarness, Zuken, or equivalent.
• Knowledge of FPGA development and hardware description languages such as Verilog or VHDL.
• Python scripting experience for hardware testing, automation, or data analysis.
• Experience qualifying avionics hardware for flight‑critical systems.
• Background in RF systems and related electronics.
• Experience with electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC) design, testing, and compliance.
• Experience supporting aircraft integration, ground testing, and flight‑test operations.
• Background in aerospace, defense, UAVs, autonomous systems, or other advanced hardware development environments.

This is a hands‑on engineering position within a fast-moving aerospace development environment. The role requires involvement across the full hardware lifecycle, including design, fabrication, assembly, integration, troubleshooting, and flight testing.

Candidates should be comfortable working beyond traditional engineering design responsibilities and contributing wherever needed to move complex hardware development programs forward.