Senior UAV Electrical Engineer — Flight-Ready Hardware Lead

Blackwing; El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Rainmaker is seeking an experienced Hardware Engineer to lead the architecture and design of electrical systems for advanced UAS hardware. You will prototype, validate, and iterate PCBs, mentor junior engineers, and work closely with mechanical, software, and manufacturing teams to ensure robust flight-ready designs.

The role requires extensive PCB design, embedded programming, and experience with high-speed digital design, power integrity, and EMI/EMC.

Qualifications

• Bachelors in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or significant demonstrated technical ability and professional experience (6+ years in electronics).
• 4+ years of professional PCB design experience with Altium (or equivalent).
• Led hardware designs from concept through manufacturing including DFM/DFT with contract manufacturers.
• Deep experience with embedded platforms and microcontrollers (Raspberry Pi, NVIDIA Jetson, STM32, ESP32, RP2040).
• Experience with high-speed digital design, power integrity, signal integrity, and EMI/EMC considerations.
• Mentor engineers and lead technical reviews.
• Embedded programming experience (C++, C, Rust, or Python), including board bring-up, debugging, and low-level driver development for sensors and interfaces.

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture and design of complex electrical systems for hardware platforms.
• Design and build functional prototypes for hardware subsystems.
• Create schematic and layouts for power distribution and sensor interfaces using Altium.
• Assemble, debug, and validate PCBs; develop test procedures for flight conditions.
• Write technical documentation and preparation data for manufacturers.
• Collaborate with Mechanical, Software, Research and Manufacturing teams.

Skills

System design

Embedded programming

Mentoring engineers

Cross-functional collaboration

Technical leadership

Education

Bachelors in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering

6+ years experience in electronics field

Tools

Altium

Raspberry Pi

NVIDIA Jetson

STM32

ESP32

RP2040

Job description

Rainmaker is seeking an experienced Hardware Engineer to lead the architecture and design of electrical systems for advanced UAS hardware. You will prototype, validate, and iterate PCBs, mentor junior engineers, and work closely with mechanical, software, and manufacturing teams to ensure robust flight-ready designs.

The role requires extensive PCB design, embedded programming, and experience with high-speed digital design, power integrity, and EMI/EMC.