Senior Avionics Engineer

6AM City, LLC; Virginia (MN); On-site; USD 138,000 - 179,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision

401(k) retirement plan

Life insurance

Short/long-term disability

Health Spending Account (HSA)

Transit benefits

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Paid time off

Job summary

Actalent seeks an Avionics Engineer to lead the design, integration, and testing of aircraft avionics and electrical systems. You will transition schematics to flight-ready hardware and collaborate with engineers and technicians in Sterling, VA.

The role emphasizes hands-on work in lab, integration, and test environments with potential travel to flight-test locations. Contract-to-hire in Sterling, VA.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• Experience with electrical system design and schematic capture.
• Strong understanding of DC power distribution and circuit protection.
• Familiarity with aircraft or vehicle data buses (CAN, RS-485, ARINC-429).
• Experience troubleshooting electrical and system integration issues.

Responsibilities

• Lead the completion of avionics and electrical system design, including electrical power systems and data systems.
• Develop and maintain electrical schematics and wiring harness designs.
• Perform electrical power distribution analysis, circuit sizing, and protection design.
• Conduct data bus architecture and signal integrity analysis.
• Develop vehicle integration and test activities.
• Serve as a technical liaison between engineering and technicians.
• Maintain harness drawings and implement redlines and engineering updates.
• Provide hands-on support for harness fabrication and system bring-up.
• Support sensor integration, data acquisition (DAQ), and debug.

Skills

Electrical design

Schematic capture

DC power distribution

Data buses CAN RS485 ARINC429

Lab hands-on

Independent work

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Capital harness tools

Job description

Job Description

Job Title: Avionics Engineer

Job Description

Join an innovative team developing next-generation ultra-long endurance aircraft. We are seeking a hands-on Avionics Engineer to lead the completion of design, integration, and testing of aircraft avionics and electrical systems. This role is integral to transitioning complex avionics systems from schematics to flight-ready hardware and involves close collaboration with engineers and technicians.

Responsibilities

• Lead the completion of avionics and electrical system design, including electrical power systems and data systems.
• Develop and maintain electrical schematics and wiring harness designs.
• Perform electrical power distribution analysis, circuit sizing, and protection design.
• Conduct data bus architecture and signal integrity analysis.
• Develop vehicle integration and test activities.
• Serve as a technical liaison between engineering and technicians.
• Maintain harness drawings and implement redlines and engineering updates.
• Provide hands-on support for harness fabrication and system bring-up.
• Support sensor integration, data acquisition (DAQ), and debug.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• Experience with electrical system design and schematic capture.
• Strong understanding of DC power distribution and circuit protection.
• Lead the completion of avionics and electrical system design, including electrical power systems and data systems.
• Familiarity with aircraft or vehicle data buses (CAN, RS-485, ARINC-429, or similar).
• Experience troubleshooting electrical and system integration issues.
• Ability to work independently with high-level direction and self-manage tasks.
• Comfortable working hands-on in lab, integration, and test environments.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with Capital (Component Manager, Logic, Harness) or similar harness design tools.
• Knowledge of aircraft wiring standards such as IPC/WHMA-A-620 and AS50881.
• Familiarity with RF systems used for navigation or data links.
• Experience with aircraft or complex vehicle development programs.
• Experience supporting integration labs or flight test campaigns.

Work Environment

This is an onsite engineering role based in Sterling, Virginia, supporting active development hardware and integration labs. Engineers will collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and may travel to flight-test locations for extended periods. Some hybrid flexibility may be available for the right candidate. The role requires hands-on work in lab, integration, and test environments.

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Sterling, VA.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $100.00 - $130.00/hr.

• Medical, dental & vision
• Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital
• 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available
• Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)
• Short and long-term disability
• Health Spending Account (HSA)
• Transportation benefits
• Employee Assistance Program
• Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Sterling,VA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Aug 24, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characte