Principal Electrical Engineer

Henderson Scott; Torrance (CA); Hybrid; USD 230,000 - 270,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401(k) contribution

Vacation 3 weeks

Professional development

Hybrid work

Job summary

Henderson Scott is seeking a Principal Electrical Engineer to join a specialist Aerospace & Defense business in Torrance, CA. The role targets bleeding-edge defense technology across missile seekers, autonomous UAVs, EO/IR sensing and guidance systems.

This is hands-on hardware work, owning designs from concept and PCB development through board bring-up, qualification and flight testing, with leadership of other engineers and a strong testing culture.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in electrical/hardware engineering (aerospace/defense background preferred).
• Experience with aerospace hardware development and qualification.
• Hands-on hardware bring-up, debugging and testing in flight environments.
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-810 / MIL-STD-461 environmental and EMI/EMC qualification.

Responsibilities

• Own designs from concept and PCB development through bring-up and flight testing.
• Lead technical initiatives across rapid-defense programs.
• Mentor and guide other engineers in hardware design and test.
• Work on mixed-signal, power and high-speed digital electronics for aerospace applications.

Skills

10+ years exp

Hands-on hardware

Mixed-signal design

Debugging

Leadership

Troubleshooting

Education

BSEE or equivalent

Tools

Altium

Cadence

Mentor

Job description

Principal Electrical Engineer – Bleeding-Edge Defense Technology

U.S. DoD Secret Clearance: Must hold or be eligible to obtain

ITAR: U.S. export-control eligibility required

We’re hiring a Principal Electrical Engineer to join a specialist Aerospace & Defense business developing bleeding-edge defense technology across missile seekers, autonomous UAVs, EO/IR sensing and guidance systems.

This isn't an architecture-only position. We’re looking for an engineer who still wants to be genuinely hands-on with the hardware — owning designs from initial concept and PCB development through board bring-up, qualification and flight testing.

What You'll Be Working On

You'll take technical ownership across rapid-development defense programs involving:

• Mixed-signal PCB design – architecture, schematics, layout direction, bring-up and debug
• EO/IR and sensor electronics, including low-noise analog circuitry
• High-speed digital interfaces including LVDS, SerDes, DDR and MIPI
• Power electronics, DC-DC conversion and power management
• Motor drive and control actuation electronics
• Hardware designed for demanding airborne and missile environments
• MIL-STD-810 / MIL-STD-461 environmental and EMI/EMC qualification
• Hardware integration, troubleshooting and flight testing
• Technical leadership and mentoring of other engineers

What We're Looking For

We're particularly interested in engineers coming from Aerospace, Defense, Missile, UAV or advanced avionics environments.

You’ll ideally bring:

• 10+ years' Electrical / Electronics / Hardware Engineering experience
• Mixed-signal, analog, power or high-speed digital electronics experience
• Experience with Altium, Cadence or Mentor
• Experience developing flight-qualified or fielded hardware
• Knowledge of MIL-STD / aerospace environmental qualification
• Strong hands-on hardware bring-up, debugging and test experience
• BSEE or equivalent

Experience with missile seekers, precision-guided munitions, autonomous UAVs, loitering munitions, EO/IR payloads, avionics or control actuation systems would be particularly valuable.

Circa $250K+ depending on experience and technical background

• Employer-paid medical, dental and vision
• Automatic 5% company 401(k) contribution
• 3 weeks' vacation from start
• Professional development and educational assistance
• Hybrid working available depending on position

If you've spent your career developing real aerospace or defense hardware that has been built, qualified and fielded and want to work on fast-moving, bleeding-edge programs, we'd like to hear from you.