Principal Electrical Engineer - IV

Inspired Flight; San Luis Obispo (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited Paid Time Off

Health insurance

401k with company match

Equity stock options

Quarterly team bonus

Job summary

Inspired Flight is seeking a seasoned Principal Electrical Engineer to lead the engineering team in designing electrical hardware and embedded systems for drone platforms. The role centers on delivering robust power electronics, PCB/Schematics, and EMI-conscious analog/digital circuits within a growing UAV company.

The candidate should bring 7–10+ years in the field, a strong background in MCU/FPGA design, and experience with RF, flight controls, and PA107/FAA-related qualifications.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or equivalent required.
• 7–10+ years in related field with UAV/ aerospace experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead design of electrical circuits, schematics, PCBs and overall engineering docs.
• Design power electronics for aircraft, both internal and external.
• Embedded system design using MCUs and FPGA.
• Implement design-for-manufacturability and testability; prototype testing and analysis.

Skills

Communication

Cross-functional

Analog circuits

Digital circuits

Power electronics

MCU design

FPGA

I2C

SPI

CAN

PWM

BLDC

RF design

Flight controls

UAV Pilot

FAA Part 107

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

PCB design tools

EMI simulation tools

Job description

Company Description

Inspired Flight’s Purpose Statement says it all - Conserving resources, creating jobs, and saving lives by innovating the American drone manufacturing. Founded in San Luis Obispo, California our entirely U.S. based team designs, builds and supports highly capable and flexible drone platforms for both commercial and government customers.

Our purpose driven team exemplifies our Core Values. We are:

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.

Location

This is an in-office position for hire at Inspired Flight’s HQ in San Luis Obispo, CA.

Job Description

Inspired Flight 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 at Inspired Flight 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

Benefits Offered

• Unlimited Paid Time Off
• World Class Health, Dental, Vision Insurance Plan
• 401k w/ 6% company match
• Equity Stock Options
• Quarterly Team Bonus Plan

Equal Opportunity Employer

Inspired Flight is deeply committed to building a workplace where inclusion is not only valued, but prioritized. We pride ourselves on being an equal opportunity employer that seeks to create a welcoming and diverse environment. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, or expression, family status, marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, neurodiversity, age, or veteran status, or any other non-merit based or legally protected grounds.

The above job description is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of duties and standards of the position. Incumbents will follow any other instructions, and perform any other related duties, as assigned by their supervisor.