Sr. Electrical Engineer, Prime Air Perception

Socket.dev; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 137,000 - 186,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon Prime Air is hiring an Electrical Engineer to own the design, development, and verification of the Drone Perception subsystem and related ground-based loading hardware, including power and signal architecture for radar and cameras.

You will lead architecture, design, and development of high-speed, mixed-signal boards, perform bring-up and debugging, provide technical mentorship, and ensure performance, quality, and cost objectives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 7+ years engineering experience.
• Experience with hardware debugging or leadership roles.
• Proven FPGA product lifecycle experience from concept to production.
• Strong DSP background with hardware DSP algorithms.
• Proficiency with FPGA design tools (Xilinx Vivado, Intel Quartus, or similar).
• Experience with high-speed interfaces (PCIe, Ethernet, SERDES).

Responsibilities

• Own the camera and radar signal and power architecture for Prime Air Drone Perception hardware and packaging loading systems from concept to production.
• Lead architecture, design, and development of high-speed and mixed-signal boards.
• Define board-level architectures and select components based on requirements.
• Create detailed schematics and guide PCB layout while ensuring SI/PI, manufacturability, and reliability.
• Perform board bring-up, debugging, validation, and root-cause analysis.
• Drive technical decisions and act as primary hardware design authority for projects.
• Review designs and provide mentorship to other engineers.
• Ensure designs meet performance, quality, schedule, and cost objectives.

Skills

FPGA design

DSP

High-speed interfaces

Troubleshooting

Mentorship

System-level thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Xilinx Vivado

Intel Quartus

Job description

We are hiring an Electrical Engineer responsible for owning the design, development, and verification of the Prime Air Drone Perception subsystem and ground based package loading infrastructure. This candidate will own power and signal architecture for radar and cameras, along with development of new ground based hardware that interfaces directly with the drone. As the technical focal point for your projects, you will provide technical leadership, make key design decisions, and drive engineering excellence.

How do you get items to customers quickly, cost-effectively, and—most importantly—safely, in less than an hour? And how do you do it in a way that can scale? Our teams of hundreds of scientists, engineers, aerospace professionals, and futurists have been working hard to do just that! We are delivering to customers, and are excited for what’s to come. Check out more information about Prime Air on the About Amazon blog (https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-prime-air-delivery-drone-reveal-photos).

If you are seeking an iterative environment where you can drive innovation, apply state-of-the-art technologies to solve real world delivery challenges, and provide benefits to customers, Prime Air is the place for you.

Come work on the Amazon Prime Air Team!

Key job responsibilities

• Own the camera and radar signal and power architecture for Prime Air Drone Perception hardware and supporting packaging loading systems from concept to production.
• Lead the architecture, design, and development of complex high-speed and mixed-signal boards.
• Define board-level architectures and select appropriate components based on system requirements.
• Create detailed schematics and guide PCB layout activities, ensuring signal integrity, power integrity, manufacturability, and reliability requirements are met.
• Perform board bring-up, debugging, validation, and root‑cause analysis.
• Drive technical decision‑making and act as the primary hardware design authority for assigned projects.
• Review designs and provide technical mentorship to other engineers.
• Ensure designs meet performance, quality, schedule, and cost objectives.

A day in the life

You independently drive the design and delivery of on vehicle and ground based electronics hardware, making sound trade-offs between performance, cost, manufacturability, and schedule. Your test plans thoroughly validate designs and efficiently address system integration challenges. You think in terms of the system, not just individual components, and proactively work to improve the overall product architecture. Your work is consistently high quality, meeting safety, regulatory, and reliability standards. You influence your team's technical direction and are recognized as a go‑to resource for electronics expertise.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field
• 7+ years of engineering experience
• Experience with general troubleshooting/debugging of hardware, or experience as a mentor, tech lead or leading an engineering team
• Proven track record of completing full FPGA product cycles from concept through production
• Strong Digital Signal Processing (DSP) background with experience implementing DSP algorithms in hardware
• Proficiency with FPGA design tools (Xilinx Vivado, Intel Quartus, or similar)
• Experience with high-speed interfaces (PCIe, Ethernet, SERDES, etc.)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with modern ASIC/FPGA design and verification tools
• Experience using scripting languages, such as Python, Perl, Linux bash
• Experience with version control systems and CI/CD pipeline implementation
• Experience working in a fast-paced work environment
• Experience with communication systems or RF signal processing
• Design for Aerospace or other regulated industry

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn't listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign‑on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, WA, Seattle - 137,300.00 - 185,700.00 USD annually