Principal Electronic Engineer

flir; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 142,000 - 189,000; Full time

Job summary

Teledyne API in San Diego seeks a highly experienced Principal Electronics Engineer to lead architecture, design, verification, and production release of next-generation electronic systems for precision gas and air quality monitoring instruments.

The role requires deep analog/digital design expertise, strong system-level thinking, and the ability to mentor engineers while collaborating across software, mechanical, manufacturing, and quality teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering or Electrical Engineering; advanced degree preferred.
• 15+ years of progressive hands-on electronics engineering experience, preferably in R&D or instrumentation.
• Strong analog and mixed-signal circuit design experience including low-noise signal conditioning and precision measurements.
• Strong digital and embedded hardware design experience including microcontrollers, processors, memory, and interfaces.
• Experience with schematic capture and PCB layout, and design-for-manufacturing/test/service.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, design, development, test, and qualification of advanced electronic systems for analytical instrumentation.
• Design and optimize analog, digital, mixed-signal, power, and sensor-interface circuitry with emphasis on precision and reliability.
• Translate requirements into robust hardware architectures, specs, verification plans, and production-ready documentation.
• Lead schematic design, component selection, PCB layout, and design-for-manufacturing/test activities using Altium Designer or similar tools.
• Integrate MCUs, processors, FPGAs, ADCs/DACs, sensors, power supplies into cohesive instrument-level solutions.
• Perform hands-on board- and system-level bring-up, debugging, verification, and root-cause analysis with lab equipment.
• Partner with software/firmware teams to define interfaces and resolve hardware/software integration issues.
• Lead design reviews, risk assessments, failure investigations, corrective actions, and continuous improvement.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers and technicians to uphold engineering discipline.
• Collaborate with manufacturing, quality, procurement, suppliers, and service teams to ensure producibility and reliability.

Job description

Be visionary

Teledyne Technologies Incorporated provides enabling technologies for industrial growth markets that require advanced technology and high reliability. These markets include aerospace and defense, factory automation, air and water quality environmental monitoring, electronics design and development, oceanographic research, deepwater oil and gas exploration and production, medical imaging and pharmaceutical research.

We are looking for individuals who thrive on making an impact and want the excitement of being on a team that wins.

Job Description

Company Overview

Teledyne API, located in San Diego, California, is a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-precision environmental and industrial gas monitoring instrumentation. Our products are used worldwide by regulatory agencies, industrial customers, and research organizations to measure air quality, support environmental compliance, and solve demanding analytical measurement challenges. As an R&D-driven organization, we combine scientific insight, electronics design, embedded systems, and practical engineering execution to deliver reliable, field-ready instrumentation.

Job Summary

We are seeking a highly experienced and hands‑on Principal Electronics Engineer to join our Research & Development team. This role will serve as a senior technical authority for the architecture, design, development, verification, and production release of next-generation electronic systems used in precision gas and air quality monitoring instruments. The ideal candidate will combine deep analog and digital design expertise with strong system‑level thinking, practical laboratory troubleshooting skills, and the ability to lead complex product development efforts from concept through production.

This position requires an engineer who can operate with a high degree of autonomy, define technical direction, mentor other engineers, and collaborate effectively across electrical, mechanical, software, systems, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and product management teams. The successful candidate will be comfortable moving between high‑level system architecture, detailed circuit design, PCB layout implementation, hands‑on debug, documentation, and cross‑functional technical leadership.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, design, development, test, and qualification of advanced electronic systems for analytical instrumentation and environmental monitoring products.

• Design and optimize analog, digital, mixed‑signal, power, sensor‑interface, and embedded control circuitry with emphasis on precision, reliability, manufacturability, serviceability, and long‑term product support.

• Translate customer, regulatory, product, and scientific measurement requirements into robust hardware architectures, circuit designs, technical specifications, verification plans, and production‑ready documentation.

• Lead schematic design, component selection, PCB layout implementation, design‑for‑manufacturing, design‑for‑test, and design‑for‑service activities using Altium Designer or similar tools.

• Integrate microcontrollers, processors, FPGAs, ADCs, DACs, sensors, communication interfaces, power supplies, and other electronic subsystems into cohesive instrument‑level solutions.

• Perform hands‑on board‑level and system‑level bring‑up, troubleshooting, verification, and root‑cause analysis using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, multimeters, data acquisition tools, and other laboratory equipment.

• Partner with software and firmware teams to define interfaces, support embedded control development, verify system behavior, and resolve hardware/software integration issues.

• Lead design reviews, technical risk assessments, failure investigations, corrective actions, and continuous improvement initiatives across the full product lifecycle.

• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to engineers and technicians, helping establish best practices, design standards, documentation quality, and strong engineering discipline.

• Collaborate with manufacturing, quality, procurement, suppliers, contract manufacturers, and service teams to ensure designs are producible, testable, reliable, cost‑effective, and supportable in the field.

• Manage multiple technical priorities in a dynamic R&D environment while communicating status, risks, tradeoffs, and recommendations clearly to technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

• Other duties may be assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This job has no supervisory responsibilities but may provide technical leadership to lower‑level Engineers including carrying out lead responsibilities in accordance with applicable regulations and laws and the organization’s policies and procedures. This includes, but is not limited to training employees, planning, assigning, directing work and resolving technically related work problems.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related technical discipline; advanced degree preferred.

• Typically, 15+ years of progressive, hands‑on electronics engineering experience, preferably in R&D, scientific instrumentation, industrial instrumentation, precision measurement, or similarly complex hardware product environments.

• Demonstrated ability to define, design, verify, and release complex electronic systems from concept through production.

• Strong analog and mixed‑signal circuit design experience, including low‑noise signal conditioning, filtering, precision measurement, ADC/DAC interfaces, sensor interfaces, and error budget considerations.

• Strong digital and embedded hardware design experience, including microcontrollers, processors, memory, communication interfaces, programmable logic, and board‑level integration.

• Experience with schematic capture, PCB layout, component selection, design reviews, and design‑for‑manufacturing/test/service principles.

• Proficiency with Altium Designer (preferred), OrCAD, Cadence, Mentor Graphics, or similar EDA tools.

• Hands‑on laboratory experience debugging complex circuit and system‑level issues using standard electronics test equipment.

• Strong understanding of hardware/software integration, embedded controls, system interfaces, and product‑level verification.

• Excellent analytical, troubleshooting, communication, documentation, and cross‑functional leadership skills.

• Ability to work independently, manage multiple concurrent priorities, and make sound technical decisions in areas where limited precedent may exist.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing electronics for gas analyzers, optical measurement systems, environmental monitoring instruments, industrial controls, or other precision analytical equipment.

• Familiarity with communication protocols such as Ethernet, USB, RS‑485, CAN, Modbus, or similar industrial and embedded interfaces.

• Experience with embedded software, scripting, or test automation using C, C++, Python, Linux, or similar tools.

• Experience with regulatory, safety, EMC/EMI, environmental, reliability, and qualification testing for electronic products.

• Knowledge of product lifecycle processes, engineering change control, BOM management, PLM systems, supplier engagement, and production transfer.

• Demonstrated history of mentoring engineers, establishing design standards, improving engineering processes, and contributing to technology roadmaps.

• Adapts to changes in the work environment; Able to deal with frequent changes, delays, or unexpected events.

• Ability to Travel domestically approximately 15%.

Work Environment and Physical Requirements

• Work is performed in an office, R&D laboratory, and manufacturing or production support environment.

• Hands‑on work with prototype hardware, test equipment, production units, and engineering builds is expected.

• Domestic travel required to support Teledyne branch in Denver Colorado, approximately 15%

• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds as needed for laboratory or product support activities.

Employment Eligibility

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of hire. This position may require compliance with company policies, customer requirements, and applicable export control or regulatory obligations.

Salary Range:

$141,900.00-$189,200.000

The anticipated salary range listed for this role is only an estimate. Actual compensation for successful candidates is carefully determined based on several factors including, but not limited to, location, education/training, work experience, key skills, and type of position.

Teledyne conducts background checks on qualified applicants who receive a conditional offer of employment in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. Background checks may include, but are not limited to, education verification, employment history and verification, criminal convictions, Motor Vehicle Report (MVR & driving history), reference check, credit checks/credit history and drug testing. All qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers and the California Fair Chance Act.

Teledyne and all of our employees are committed to conducting business with the highest ethical standards. We require all employees to comply with all applicable laws, regulations, rules and regulatory orders. Our reputation for honesty, integrity and high ethics is as important to us as our reputation for making innovative sensing solutions.

Teledyne is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status, age, or any other characteristic or non‑merit based factor made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws.