Principal Systems Architect, Communications Hardware (Remote Eligible | Relocation Assistance Available)

axon; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Remote-eligible

Job summary

Axon is seeking a Principal Systems Architect to lead the system architecture for a new line of mission-critical hardware used in emergency response. This founding-level role spans electrical, RF, mechanical, thermal, and power domains, defining standards, integration strategy, and engineering processes from concept to mass production.

You will partner with cross-functional engineering leads and external manufacturers to deliver production-ready hardware, drive verification, certification, and

Qualifications

• Extensive hardware engineering across electrical, RF, and mechanical domains.
• Proven ownership of system architecture and cross‑disciplinary decisions.
• Experience shipping compact, connected hardware through EVT/DVT to mass production.
• Hands-on system requirements creation and validation planning.
• Familiarity with US and international hardware certification standards.

Responsibilities

• Define end-to-end system architecture and integration plans across domains.
• Translate requirements into verifiable, traceable system requirements.
• Balance power, thermal, and compute budgets against size and cost targets.
• Lead cross-disciplinary design reviews and guide EE/RF/ME leads.
• Drive certification strategy with ODM/JDM and manufacturing teams.
• Own system verification, risk analysis, and lifecycle mitigation.

Skills

Cross-disciplinary leadership

System architecture

RF engineering

Electrical engineering

Mechanical engineering

Verification & validation

Regulatory certification

Manufacturing partnerships

Technical decision making

Tools

Altium

Cadence

SolidWorks

Creo

NX

RF test equipment

Thermal characterization tools

PLM/BOM/requirements mgmt

Job description

Role overview

The Principal Systems Architect will lead system architecture for a new line of mission-critical communications hardware used in emergency response settings. This founding-level role spans electrical, RF, mechanical, thermal, and power domains, and is responsible for defining the technical standards, integration strategy, and engineering processes that take a compact, connected device from concept through mass production. The position partners closely with cross-functional engineering leads and external manufacturing partners to deliver production-ready hardware.

Responsibilities

• Define end-to-end system architecture, block diagrams, and integration plans spanning electrical, RF, mechanical, software, and industrial design.
• Translate product requirements into clear, testable system requirements with full traceability through verification and validation.
• Analyze and balance power, thermal, and computational budgets against size, performance, and cost targets.
• Lead cross-disciplinary design reviews, resolve competing engineering constraints, and direct EE, RF, and ME leads on technical decisions.
• Own system-level verification, validation, risk analysis, and mitigation across the product lifecycle.
• Drive certification strategy across U.S. and international regulatory standards and partner with ODM/JDM and manufacturing teams on DFM/DFA and production readiness.

Requirements

• 10+ years of hardware engineering experience with deep expertise in at least two of electrical, RF, or mechanical engineering, plus working knowledge of the third.
• Proven ownership of system architecture and cross-disciplinary technical decisions for complex, integrated hardware products.
• Track record of shipping compact, connected, battery-powered hardware from concept through EVT/DVT/PVT, certification, and mass production.
• Deep experience with RF and antenna integration, power architecture, thermal management, EMI/EMC, shielding, enclosure design, and mechanical tolerances.
• Hands-on experience developing system requirements, validation plans, and working with U.S. and international hardware certification standards.
• Experience collaborating with ODM/JDM or contract manufacturing partners and familiarity with tools such as Altium or Cadence, SolidWorks, Creo, or NX, RF and electrical test equipment, thermal characterization tools, and PLM/BOM or requirements-management systems.

Nice to have

• Strong communication skills for translating complex engineering tradeoffs and technical risk into clear decisions for program and executive leadership.

Benefits and work setup

• Remote-eligible position with relocation assistance available.