Principal Electrical Engineer

NLB Services; California (MO); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

NLB Services seeks a Principal Electrical Engineer to lead our UAV engineering team in San Luis Obispo, CA. This role focuses on designing electrical circuits, PCBs, and embedded systems within drone architecture to advance our aerial capabilities.

Ideal candidates bring 7–10+ years in UAS or related fields, strength in power electronics, EMI robustness, and experience with MCU/FPGA and flight-control algorithms. FAA Part 107 experience is a plus.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent.
• 7-10+ years in related field, preferably UAS/aerospace/defense.
• Experience designing for EMI robustness and power electronics.

Responsibilities

• Lead engineering team in drone electrical/aerial system design.
• Design electrical schematics, PCBs, and engineering docs.
• Develop power electronics for aircraft, both external and internal.
• Embedded system design with microcontrollers and FPGA.
• Apply manufacturability and testability best practices.
• Evaluate designs via simulation and prototyping.

Skills

Leadership/Team lead

Communication

EMI resilient circuits

Power electronics

PCB design & testing

Embedded systems

MCU/FPGA

Serial protocols (I2C, SPI, SMBus, CAN

PWM control

BLDC motor control

RF design/analysis

PID tuning

UAV flight control

FAA Part 107 knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering

7-10+ Years experience

Experience in UAS/aerospace/defense

Job description

Principal Electrical Engineer / San Luis Obispo, CA

About the job

Collaborative: We harness the collective intelligence and energy of our team to surpass individual potentials and achieve shared goals.

Humble: We cultivate a culture of flexibility, collaboration, and a genuine eagerness to learn from one other’s perspectives and experiences.

Perseverant: We embrace challenges with tenacity and resilience, as enduring commitment drives our breakthroughs and success.

Diverse: We place a high value in people of all heritages, genders, sexual orientations, and points of view to spark innovation and solutions, enriching our work environment and outputs.

Self-Aware: We strive to clearly understand our own strengths and weaknesses to continuously advance our capabilities and contributions.

Continuously Improving: We are committed to ongoing learning and innovation by always seeking ways to enhance our processes, products, and personal expertise.

Underlying all of this is our deeply rooted belief that the cutting-edge aerial tools we create are advancing an industry that is good for people, good for our planet and good for the United States of America.

Job Description

Client is seeking a talented and experienced Principal Electrical Engineer to join and lead our Engineering team. A Principal Electrical Engineer is a specialized role responsible for leading the team in the design of electrical compliments and complex embedded systems within drone architecture.

This position is at the core of the engineering department and will be part of a rapidly growing company in the growing UAV industry. Lots of upward mobility available for this role!

Typical Responsibilities

• Work directly with VP of Engineering to develop and deliver new and exciting technologies
• Design electrical circuit schematics and PCBs and overall engineering documentation
• Perform the design of power electronics external and internal to the aircraft.
• Embedded system design utilizing microcontrollers and FPGA
• Implement design best practices such as design for manufacturability and testability
• Evaluation of electronic designs using simulation and prototyping

You’ll excel in this role if you are skilled in:

• Great communication and organizational skills working with cross functional teams within engineering and operations
• Experience in design of robust, EMI resilient analog and digital circuits
• Experience in power electronics such as batteries, chargers, or high current devices
• Experience in testing, troubleshooting and debugging of PCBs and electrical assemblies
• A strong understanding microcontrollers or FPGA type hardware
• Experience using serial communication protocols including I2C, SPI, SMBus,CAN, PWM
• Knowledge of BLDC motor operating principles and control methods such as field oriented control (FOC)
• Experience in RF Design or Analysis
• Tuning of flight control algorithms including PIDs and sensor filters
• UAV Pilot experience and/or a FAA Part 107 License

Education/Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent discipline is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
• 7-10+ Years experience in a related field
• Experience preferably in the following industries: UAS, aviation, aerospace, defense sector

NLB Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

NLB Services provides reasonable accommodations during the recruitment process as required by law. Applicants requiring an accommodation due to a disability, pregnancy-related limitation, or sincerely held religious belief, practice or observance may contact their recruiter or email [e-mail].