Product Engineer III

AeroVironment, Inc.; Petaluma (CA); On-site; USD 91,000 - 139,000; Full time

Job summary

AeroVironment, Inc. in Petaluma, CA, is seeking a Product Engineer III to sustain engineering support for UAV systems across military and commercial apps.

You will modify structural components, electro-mechanical assemblies, and payloads; develop prototypes; perform design verification testing; and manage product configuration and documentation. Responsibilities include coordinating with project managers, suppliers, and manufacturing to ensure timely production, creating BOMs and manuals, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in a related field or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification or experience.
• 5–8 years of related experience in an engineering design environment, including production support.
• Experience with unmanned air vehicles is a plus; RF, digital, and communications electronics design.
• Electronics manufacturing troubleshooting; PCB layout, schematics, and assembly.
• Design/drafting/CAD (Altium), including ASME Y14 drawing standards.
• Strong understanding of configuration management principles.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate across technical disciplines and organizations.
• Proficient with office software and productivity tools.

Responsibilities

• Sustains engineering support for a product line and manages changes in Agile PLM.
• Understands product design, features, and manufacturing processes.
• Acts as technical POC for ongoing support and change initiation, including issue escalation.
• Assist in proposal & report writing and review production contracts.
• Coordinate transition of new products and variants into production.
• Release and update engineering design docs, BOMs, procedures, and tooling.
• Coordinate development, testing and release of product improvements with cross-functional teams.
• Provide obsolescence management and customer support for failures.

Skills

UAV systems

RF design

Digital design

Electronics design

PCB layout

Altium CAD

Schematic capture

Office software

Education

Bachelor's Degree in related field

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt

Tools

Altium

Job description

Worker Type Regular Job Description Summary As a Product Engineer III at AeroVironment, one sustains engineering support for UAV systems for military and commercial applications. Includes design modifications of structural components, electro-mechanical assemblies, payloads, ground equipment, launching systems, flight control actuators, prototype hardware development, performing design verification testing, and configuration management of products. Other duties: developing &maintaining manufacturing drawings and bills of materials for components and assemblies using industry drafting standards, supporting design reviews, assisting project managers with the planning and scheduling of engineering work, and supporting manufacturing & suppliers with the production of mechanical components & assemblies.

Position Responsibilities

Sustains engineering support related to a product line. Manages product line configuration and change orders in Agile PLM system Understands product design and features, be familiar with the manufacturing process. Understands customer performance and configuration requirements for product Acts as a technical point of contact for ongoing support and change initiation, including managing manufacturing and customer issues escalated to engineering Assists in proposal & report writing, review of contracts for production orders Helps coordinate the transition for new products and product variants into production Coordinates the release and update of engineering design documentation, operator manuals, bill of materials, manufacturing procedures, product acceptance test procedures, and production tooling and test equipment Coordinates development, testing and release of product improvements and variants in cooperation with product line manager, design engineers and project managers Provides component obsolescence management for the product line Provides customer support for failure analysis, field bulletin technical content, general product information Works with suppliers, purchasing and planning to ensure resolution of technical issues that impact production Other duties as assigned

Basic Qualifications (Required Skills & Experience)

Bachelor's Degree in a related field of study is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience Lean Six Sigma experience or Green Belt certification 5 - 8 years of related experience in a similar role, including experience in an engineering design environment, including support of products in production Experience with unmanned air vehicles a plus; RF, digital, and communications electronics design Electronics manufacturing troubleshooting PCB layout, schematics and assembly's Design/drafting/CAD (Altium), including ASME Y14 drawing standards Strong understanding of configuration management principles Strong understanding of general Engineering fundamentals, mathematics, physics, material properties, electronics, systems, software Demonstrated understanding of requirements for building of production assemblies, including documentation for use on production floor Demonstrated ability to integrate across technical disciplines and organizations, including program management, manufacturing, quality, purchasing, suppliers and customers Experienced and proficient with office software and computer based productivity tools

Other Qualifications & Desired Competencies

Desirable experience or attributes: Agile PLM data management system product configuration management standards (MIL-HDBK-61A, EIA-649-B) Demonstrates competency in solving basic structural dynamics problems Works on problems of diverse scope where analysis of data requires evaluation of identifiable factors. Resolves a wide range of issues in creative ways Selects methods and techniques for obtaining solutions while utilizing good judgment. Contributes to meeting project cost and schedule Typically receives little instruction on day-to-day work; Completes tasks within schedule and budget Able to excel in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, where small teams share a broad variety of duties Displays strong initiative and drive to accomplish goals and meet company objectives Takes ownership and responsibility for current and past work products Is committed to learning from mistakes and driven to improve and enhance performance of oneself, others, and the company Demonstrates effective problem-solving, analytical, interpersonal and strong communication skills Consistently demonstrates teamwork, collaboration and puts the success of the team above one's own interests

Physical Demands

Ability to work in an office and manufacturing environment (Constant) Required to sit and stand for long periods; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard (Frequent) Requires frequent travel to support working with suppliers, resolving product issues, participating in system tests, and supporting customers

Salary

The salary range for this role is: $91,000 - $138,750 AeroVironment considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the location, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills.

Benefits

AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown. For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits. We also encourage you to review our company website at http://www.avinc.com to learn more about us.

ITAR Requirement

ITAR Requirement: This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants must qualify as a U.S. person under the ITAR and the EAR, or a person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction. Please understand that any job offer that requires approval of an export license will be conditional on AeroVironment’s determination that it will be able to obtain an export license in a time frame consistent with AeroVironment’s business requirements. A “U.S. person” according to the ITAR definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee or asylee. See 22 CFR § 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

Clearance Level

No Clearance

About AV:

About AV: AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission-obsessed. The best of the best. We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI-powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve. Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next. If you're ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV. We are proud to be an EEO/AA Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans. AeroVironment, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic data, sexual orientation, gender identity or other legally protected status.

ITAR About AV:

ITAR About AV: AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission-obsessed. The best of the best. We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI-powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve. Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—

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