Lead Electrical Engineer, UAS Robotics & Avionics

WingXpand; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

WingXpand in Chicago, IL, is seeking a Senior/Principal Electrical Engineer specializing in PCB development and aerospace-grade electrical design for autonomous drones. You will lead hardware design, integrate with software and mechanics, and drive rugged, scalable solutions for mission-critical platforms.

You will design PCBs and power systems, validate with environmental tests, and collaborate to improve endurance and safety across air, ground, and maritime modules.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, robotics/manufacturing focus preferred.
• 6–12+ years in electrical engineering, aerospace or robotics.
• Strong knowledge of embedded systems, microcontrollers, FPGAs, RF comms.
• Hands-on hardware debugging, signal integrity and system integration.
• Startup environment: ownership of critical UAS innovations.
• Reliable problem solving with attention to reliability and efficiency.

Responsibilities

• Electrical system design for UAS: avionics, power distribution, sensor interfaces, embedded systems.
• Design and develop PCBs: high-speed digital, analog, power, RF.
• Collaborate with mechanical/software to integrate systems into airframes.
• Hands-on with flight hardware; troubleshoot and iterate designs.
• Support lifecycle from prototyping to production; ensure aerospace compliance.
• Optimize power for endurance, efficiency, safety; SWaP considerations.
• Evaluate components for high-performance, rugged UAS; IPXX concerns.
• Support environmental testing (thermal EMI/EMC, vibration) and validation.
• Contribute to system-level architecture; field testing with operators.

Skills

Embedded systems

Microcontrollers

FPGAs

RF communication

Hardware debugging

System integration

Signal integrity

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium

KiCad

SPICE

MATLAB

Job description

WingXpand in Chicago, IL, is seeking a Senior/Principal Electrical Engineer specializing in PCB development and aerospace-grade electrical design for autonomous drones. You will lead hardware design, integrate with software and mechanics, and drive rugged, scalable solutions for mission-critical platforms.

You will design PCBs and power systems, validate with environmental tests, and collaborate to improve endurance and safety across air, ground, and maritime modules.