Electrical Engineer. Sr.

InvestedintheMission; Simi Valley (CA); On-site; USD 123,000 - 187,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental and vision benefits

401(k) with company match

9/80 work schedule

Holiday shutdown

Job summary

AeroVironment is seeking a Sr. Electrical Engineer to design and evaluate electronic parts and circuitry for aircraft and hardware systems.

You will select components based on specifications and reliability, and lead the design of electronic systems for small unmanned aircraft with cross-functional teams. You will own requirements from development through production, coordinate with software, hardware, manufacturing and program management, and present progress and risk reporting to leadership

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or equivalent.
• 8 years of electrical engineering experience, with at least 5 in design and development.
• Experience leading electrical engineering activities including requirements, architecture, schematic design, PCB layout, and PCBA and system test. FPGA experience a plus.
• Experience owning or leading Integration & Test execution for complex aerospace, defense, embedded, or mission‑critical systems

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of systems engineering and integration professionals.
• Own systems engineering execution from requirements development through system integration, verification, validation, and production transition.
• Own ITAR planning and execution, including integration readiness, test planning, and reporting.
• Coordinate across software, hardware, manufacturing, quality, reliability, safety, flight test, and program management teams.
• Lead development of system-level artifacts such as requirements, interface definitions, and technical plans.
• Provide clear status of technical progress, risks, and mitigation plans to leadership and customers.
• Serve as primary customer-facing technical representative for systems engineering matters.

Skills

Leadership

Systems thinking

Requirements traceability

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

Job description

Worker Type

Regular

Job Description

Summary

The Sr. Electrical Engineer designs, develops, modifies and evaluates electronic parts, components or integrated circuitry for electronic equipment, or other hardware systems and/or electrical engineering applications. In this role, one selects components and equipment based on analysis of specifications and reliability as well as determines design approaches & parameters. Conducts general engineering and design of electronic systems on small, unmanned aircraft vehicles with cross-functional teams. May also review vendor capability to support product development.

Position Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of systems engineering and integration professionals, including staffing, workload planning, performance management, mentoring, and career development
• Own systems engineering execution from requirements development and decomposition through system integration, verification, validation, and transition to production
• Own I&T planning and execution, including integration readiness, test planning, procedure development, test conduct, data review, issue resolution, and reporting
• Manage requirements traceability, allocation, verification planning, and technical baseline evolution throughout the system development lifecycle
• Lead development of system-level artifacts such as requirements, interface definitions, technical plans, test plans, procedures, reports, and customer-facing technical presentations
• Coordinate across software, hardware, manufacturing, quality, reliability, safety, flight test, and program management teams to achieve cost, schedule, and technical objectives
• Support airworthiness, system safety, and reliability activities, including field test safety, hazard-related technical coordination, and reliability growth / issue closure as applicable
• Provide clear and timely status of technical progress, risks, issues, and mitigation plans to internal leadership and external customers
• Serve as a primary customer-facing technical representative for systems engineering matters, including reviews, status discussions, technical issue resolution, and execution alignment
• Support development planning and execution in coordination with program management, including schedule, resource, and technical performance considerations
• Ensure adherence to company processes, engineering discipline, and operational policies while driving practical, executable solutions
• Other duties as assigned

Basic Qualifications (Required Skills & Experience)

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
• 8 years of electrical engineering experience, with at least 5 in design and development
• Experience leading electrical engineering activities including requirements, architecture, schematic design, PCB layout, and PCBA and system test. FPGA experience a plus.
• Experience owning or leading Integration & Test execution for complex aerospace, defense, embedded, or mission‑critical systems

Other Qualifications & Desired Competencies

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering.
• Aerospace, defense, or UAS systems engineering experience strongly preferred
• Experience with Altium Designer
• Experience developing systems test plans, procedures, reports, and objective evidence packages
• Experience providing clear technical status, risk, and progress reporting to internal and external stakeholders
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including concise technical documentation and professional presentations
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross‑functional teams and drive execution to program deadlines
• Background in embedded systems development, integration, or test
• Experience with robotics and UAS electrical architectures.
• Experience supporting airworthiness, certification‑related activities, or other regulated flight approval processes
• Experience supporting reliability activities such as FRACAS, root cause investigation, corrective action tracking, or reliability growth efforts
• Experience taking products from development or prototype phase into production
• Familiarity with mission systems, payload systems, imaging/sensing systems, or related aerospace subsystems
• Ability to assess technical risk and opportunity, establish mitigation strategies, and drive closure across functional teams
• Demonstrated ability to build trust, influence decisions, and lead through change in a fast‑paced environment

Physical Demands

• Ability to sit, stand, stoop, reach, lift (up to 10 lbs.), bend, etc. Hand and wrist dexterity to utilize the computer.
• May require travel to sites/program and special functions.

Environmental Conditions Critical to Performance:

• Work is in an office environment, climate controlled through central air conditioning/heating.
• May have some exposure to outside environment while traveling.

Special Requirements

• U.S. Citizen
• Must be able to travel within the Continental U.S. and internationally when required.

Clearance Level

No Clearance

The salary range for this role is:

$122,500 - $187,000

AeroVironment considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the location, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills.

ITAR Requirement

This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants must qualify as a U.S. person under the ITAR and the EAR, or a person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction. Please understand that any job offer that requires approval of an export license will be conditional on AeroVironment’s determination that it will be able to obtain an export license in a time frame consistent with AeroVironment’s business requirements. A “U.S. person” according to the ITAR definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee or asylee. See 22 CFR § 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

Benefits

AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown. For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits.

We also encourage you to review our company website at http://www.avinc.com to learn more about us.

About AV

AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission‑obsessed. The best of the best.

We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI‑powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve.

Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next.

If you're ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV.

We are proud to be an EEO/AA Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans. AeroVironment, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic data, sexual orientation, gender identity or other legally protected status.

ITAR

U.S. Citizenship required