Electrical Engineer I

Axon; Sterling (VA); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

401k with employer match

Paid time off

Parental leave

Wellness programs

ERGs

Snacks in offices

Job summary

Axon is hiring an entry-level Electrical Engineer in Sterling, VA. You will build, test, and debug hardware, design cable harnesses, and layout PCBs under guidance from senior engineers. Expect a hands-on bench role with growth into schematic capture and board ownership.

You’ll collaborate with electrical, mechanical, firmware, and product teams while growing your lab leadership and documentation skills. Hybrid work with on-site days Tuesday–Friday.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or related field is required or equivalent hands-on experience.
• Hands-on experience with soldering, assembly, and basic lab testing is expected.
• Familiarity with schematic capture and PCB layout tools is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Build, assemble, and test prototype and pilot-run electronics and assemblies.
• Design cable assemblies and wire harnesses with proper derating and documentation.
• Lay out PCBs from schematics and prepare fabrication and assembly packages.
• Perform hardware bring-up, functional test, and debug using common lab equipment.
• Diagnose electrical faults and work with engineers to resolve issues.
• Support power systems testing and RF/subsystem checkout across varying conditions.
• Document test plans, results, and non-conformances with accuracy.
• Maintain lab equipment, calibration, and inventory.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support R&D and production.

Skills

Soldering

Lab testing

Troubleshooting

Documentation

Attention to detail

Measurement and analysis

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Associate degree or technical certificate in Electronics Engineering Technology

Tools

Altium Designer

KiCad

Eagle

OrCAD

Job description

At Axon, we’re on a mission to Protect Life. We’re explorers, pursuing society’s most critical safety and justice issues with our ecosystem of devices and cloud software. Like our products, we work better together. We connect with candor and care, seeking out diverse perspectives from our customers, communities and each other.

Life at Axon is fast-paced, challenging and meaningful. Here, you’ll take ownership and drive real change. Constantly grow as you work hard for a mission that matters at a company where you matter.

Your Impact:

Dedrone stands out as the global leader in airspace defense technology and counter UAS solutions. Engineering at Dedrone is tasked with delivering innovative solutions and products to maintain our position on the cutting-edge of innovation.

This is an entry-level Electrical Engineer role for someone who wants to build hardware with their own hands and grow into a design engineer. You’ll work side‑by‑side with our electrical engineering team across the full lifecycle of next‑generation cUAS hardware — building and bringing up boards, designing cable assemblies and wire harnesses, laying out PCBs, running verification and qualification tests, and troubleshooting hardware down to the component level.

Expect to spend real time at the bench. Roughly a third of this job is hands‑on build, test, and debug work, and you’ll also take ownership of our lab — its equipment, calibration, fixtures, and organization. The rest is design work alongside senior engineers, starting with cables, harnesses, and PCB layout, and growing into schematic capture and design ownership of your own boards. We’re an analysis-driven team: we expect decisions to be backed by a calculation or a measurement, and we’ll teach you how we do that.

You’ll collaborate closely with electrical, mechanical, and firmware engineers, product managers, and manufacturing partners, and your work directly supports our mission of protecting airspace and the public from the emerging cUAS threat.

Location: Sterling, VA — hybrid, onsite Tuesday through Friday

Where This Role Goes:

This is a genuine growth role, and we’ve mapped it out rather than leaving it vague:

• First six months — build, wire, and test to existing drawings; run bench tests to written plans; get our lab in order and learn our products.
• Six to twelve months — own cable and harness design end to end, including the documentation; take on routine PCB layouts; build and document your own test fixtures.
• One to two years — handle layout for most of our boards, own our library and layout standards, write your own test plans, and begin schematic capture on well-bounded blocks.
• Beyond — schematic ownership of whole boards, analysis you present at design reviews, and a clear path to Electrical Engineer II.

What You’ll Do:

• Build, assemble, and rework prototype and pilot-run electronic assemblies, including PCBs, cable/wire harnesses, and mechanical/electrical integration, following schematics, assembly drawings, and IPC workmanship standards.
• Design cable assemblies and wire harnesses — connector and contact selection, pinouts and wire lists, gauge selection with proper derating, shielding and grounding, labeling, and the drawings someone else can build from.
• Lay out printed circuit boards from schematics owned by senior engineers, and generate complete fabrication and assembly packages. You’ll grow into schematic capture as your fluency builds.
• Perform hardware bring-up, functional test, and debug of new boards and systems, using lab equipment such as multimeters, oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, power supplies, and signal generators.
• Diagnose and troubleshoot electrical faults to the component level, and work with engineers to root‑cause and resolve issues found during bring‑up, integration, and qualification testing.
• Support power system testing (DC/DC, AC/DC, battery management) and RF/sensor subsystem checkout across a range of power levels and environmental conditions relevant to cUAS platforms.
• Execute test plans and formal verification/validation procedures (EMC, environmental, MIL‑STD, etc.), accurately recording data and clearly documenting results and anomalies — and grow into writing those test plans yourself.
• Own our lab: equipment inventory and calibration tracking, ESD and electrical safety practice, consumables, and the cable and fixture organization that lets the whole team move faster.
• Build and maintain test fixtures, jigs, and bench setups to support engineering development and production test needs.
• Maintain organized, accurate documentation for builds, test data, calibration records, firmware/hardware revisions, BOMs, and non‑conformances.
• Partner daily with electrical, mechanical, and firmware engineers as well as product and manufacturing teams to support fast‑moving R&D and production programs.

What You Bring:

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or a related field. An associate’s degree or technical certificate in Electronics Engineering Technology with strong hands‑on experience also works.
• 0–3 years of professional experience. New graduates are encouraged to apply — internships, co‑ops, capstone projects, competition teams (FSAE, robotics, rocketry), military electronics, and serious maker or hobbyist work all count.
• At least one project you can walk us through where you designed or built the electronics yourself, and can explain the decisions you made and why. School and personal projects are entirely fair game.
• Hands‑on proficiency with soldering, rework, and cable/harness assembly. IPC‑A‑610 / J‑STD‑001 training or certification is a plus.
• Working knowledge of lab test equipment (DMM, oscilloscope, power supply, function generator) and comfort reading schematics and assembly drawings.
• Solid grasp of electrical fundamentals (analog and digital circuits, power distribution) and real enthusiasm for growing into circuit design and PCB layout.
• Some exposure to schematic and PCB capture tools. We use Altium Designer, but we don’t expect you to know it — KiCad, Eagle, OrCAD, or a single class project all count, and we’ll train you on ours.
• A habit of checking your own work. We want to hear about a time you ran a calculation or a test to confirm a decision instead of building it and hoping.
• Strong attention to detail and disciplined documentation habits; comfortable following formal test procedures and workmanship standards.
• Good troubleshooting instincts and a drive to understand root cause, not just symptoms.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast‑paced, dynamic environment with high levels of ambiguity, and eagerness to take on greater engineering scope as your skills develop.

Benefits that Benefit You:

• Competitive salary and 401k with employer match
• Discretionary paid time off
• Paid parental leave for all
• Fitness Programs
• Emotional & Mental Wellness support
• Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
• And yes, we have snacks in our offices

Benefits listed herein may vary depending on the nature of your employment and the location where you work.

Axon is a total compensation company, meaning compensation is made up of base pay, bonus, and stock awards. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: level, function, training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs, geographic market, and often a combination of all these factors. Our benefits offer an array of options to help support you physically, financially and emotionally through the big milestones and in your everyday life. To see more details on our benefits offerings please visit https://www.axon.com/careers .

Base Pay Range

$75,000 - $120,000 USD

Don’t meet every single requirement? That's ok. At Axon, we Aim Far. We think big with a long-term view because we want to reinvent the world to be a safer, better place. We are also committed to building diverse teams that reflect the communities we serve.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they check every box in the job description. If you’re excited about this role and our mission to Protect Life but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification listed here, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

The above job description is not intended as, nor should it be construed as, exhaustive of all duties, responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with this job. The job description may change or be supplemented at any time in accordance with business needs and conditions.

Some roles may also require legal eligibility to work in a firearms environment.

Axon’s mission is to Protect Life and is committed to the well‑being and safety of its employees as well as Axon’s impact on the environment. All Axon employees must be aware of and committed to the appropriate environmental, health, and safety regulations, policies, and procedures. Axon employees are empowered to report safety concerns as they arise and activities potentially impacting the environment.

We are an equal opportunity employer that promotes justice, advances equity, values diversity and fosters inclusion. We’re committed to hiring the best talent — regardless of race, creed, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances — and empowering all of our employees so they can do their best work. If you have a disability or special need that requires assistance or accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please email [e-mail]. Please note that this email address is for accommodation purposes only. Axon will not respond to inquiries for other purposes.