Staff Avionics Engineer - UAV Electronics & Systems (Equity)

Firestorm; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Firestorm is seeking a Staff Electrical Engineer to lead avionics hardware development for Group 2 UAS in a hands-on, leadership role. You will drive architecture, schematic design, PCB bring-up, and rigorous validation across cross-functional teams to deliver safe, manufacturable systems.

This position requires deep experience in avionics, electronics, and defense programs, with a focus on first-principles reasoning and problem solving.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead avionics electrical systems architecture and development.
• Hands-on schematic, PCB bring-up, integration, testing.
• Lead aircraft-level integration and root-cause investigations.
• Define system-level verification and validation.
• Collaborate across firmware, software, mechanical, thermal, test, reliability, manufacturing, supply chain, and operations.
• Review engineering documentation, hardware changes, test procedures, and compliance.
• Work with suppliers on component selection and production readiness.
• Mentor the broader team in engineering practices.

Skills

Electrical design

Project leadership

Problem solving

Hardware troubleshooting

Team leadership

First principles

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

DO-254

MIL-STD-810

PCB layout tools

Job description

Firestorm is seeking a Staff Electrical Engineer to lead avionics hardware development for Group 2 UAS in a hands-on, leadership role. You will drive architecture, schematic design, PCB bring-up, and rigorous validation across cross-functional teams to deliver safe, manufacturable systems.

This position requires deep experience in avionics, electronics, and defense programs, with a focus on first-principles reasoning and problem solving.