Lead Electrical Engineer

Apera; Hood River (OR); On-site; USD 130,000 - 185,000; Full time

Job summary

Apera seeks a Lead Electrical Engineer to join the hardware team for a global aviation UAV division in Oregon. You will lead a small team, own electrical architecture for UAS, and drive avionics, PCBAs, power systems, and embedded electronics.

You will mentor engineers, coordinate with Systems, Software, Manufacturing, Quality and Supply Chain, and ensure verification, environmental testing, and certification activities.

Qualifications

• BS in Electrical Engineering with 10+ years in aerospace or regulated environments.
• Experience designing and integrating PCBAs, embedded processors, and power electronics.
• Proven avionics/vehicle electronics and safety-critical systems experience.
• Strong Altium Designer skills for schematics and manufacturing docs.
• Ability to mentor engineers and lead cross-functional collaboration.
• US Person under ITAR; no security clearance required.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a small team of 2-4 electrical engineers.
• Own electrical architecture for UAS, ground systems, payloads and support equipment.
• Lead design and review of avionics, PCBA, power, harnesses and embedded electronics.
• Lead RF, GNSS, telemetry, antenna and communications integration including EMI/EMC.
• Define and oversee verification, qualification, environmental and acceptance testing.
• Support system, aircraft, ground and flight-test integration and certification activities.
• Troubleshoot electrical/avionics issues and provide root-cause and production support.
• Manage component selection, obsolescence, suppliers, engineering changes and manufacturing issues.
• Collaborate with Systems, Software, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain and Flight Operations.

Skills

Electrical engineering

PCB/PCBA design

Embedded processors

Power electronics

Avionics

Altium Designer

Mentoring

UAS/Robotics

EMI/EMC

Aerospace standards

Education

BS in Electrical Engineering

MS preferred

Tools

Altium Designer

Git/GitLab

Job description

Apera have been retained by a global aviation leader in supporting their growing UAV division.

We are seeking a Lead Electrical Engineer to join the hardware team.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a small team of 2-4 electrical engineers and provide technical direction.
• Own electrical architecture for UAS, ground systems, payloads and support equipment.
• Lead design and review of avionics, PCBAs, power systems, harnesses and embedded electronics.
• Lead RF, GNSS, telemetry, antenna and communications integration, including EMI/EMC.
• Define and oversee verification, qualification, environmental and acceptance testing.
• Support system, aircraft, ground and flight-test integration and certification activities.
• Troubleshoot electrical/avionics issues and provide root-cause and production support.
• Manage component selection, obsolescence, suppliers, engineering changes and manufacturing issues.
• Collaborate with Systems, Software, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain and Flight Operations.

Required Qualifications

• BS in Electrical Engineering and 10+ years of electrical engineering experience.
• Experience in aerospace, UAS, defence, autonomous systems, robotics or similarly regulated industries.
• Strong experience designing and integrating PCBAs, embedded processors, microcontrollers, power electronics and communication interfaces.
• Proven experience with avionics/vehicle electronics and mission- or safety-critical systems.
• Strong Altium Designer experience, including schematics, PCB reviews and manufacturing documentation.
• Experience with PCB testing, tolerance analysis, sourcing and first-article qualification.
• Knowledge of UAS avionics, sensors, actuators, power and communications architectures.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor/technically lead engineers and collaborate across functions.
• US Person under ITAR; no security clearance required.

Desired Qualifications

• MS in Electrical Engineering.
• Formal technical leadership or people management experience.
• Experience with RF integration, GNSS, telemetry, antennas, wireless communications and EMI/EMC.
• Knowledge of aerospace standards such as DO-160, DO-54, ARP4754A/B and ARP4761.
• Experience taking hardware from concept through qualification, production and field support.
• Familiarity with configuration management, engineering change control and product lifecycle processes.
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop, requirements management tools and Git/GitLab.
• Broader experience in mechatronics, robotics, automation, sensing and control systems.