Staff Electrical Engineer

Eleven Recruiting; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Eleven Recruiting in the greater Los Angeles area is seeking a Staff Electrical Engineer to own the high-level electrical system design of a major UAS product—from concept through sustaining, collaborating with discipline leads and the product manager to translate requirements into a robust architecture that balances development time, cost and complexity.

You will also direct a small team of electrical engineers focused on subsystems.

Qualifications

• 11-15 years of experience in electronics design, embedded systems or aerospace/UAS sectors.
• In-depth knowledge of HDI PCB technology.
• Proficiency in defining a PCB stackup that minimizes cost while achieving EMI/EMC performance.
• Thorough understanding of high-speed serial buses (USB2/3, MIPI D-PHY, MIPI M-PHY, PCIe, Ethernet).
• Solid understanding of Power Integrity (PI) and Signal Integrity (SI).
• Proficiency with a SPICE-based circuit simulator or SI/PI tool.
• Strong knowledge of drone technologies (e.g., brushless motors, inertial sensors, GPS, Li-ion batteries).
• Proficiency in Altium Designer.
• Familiarity with Agile and Waterfall methodologies.
• Excellent written communication with manufacturers.

Responsibilities

• Break down product requirements into formal system and subsystem requirements.
• Estimate engineering hours and task durations for scheduling.
• Perform trade studies to downselect critical components.
• Serve as SME in at least three UAV technologies.
• Manage system-level electrical design with processors and microcontrollers.
• Lead a small team and integrate their designs into a working system.
• Ensure designs pass EMC/EMI regulatory requirements (MIL-STD-461G, FCC, CE).
• Apply design-for-manufacturing and design-for-test best practices.
• Write and execute EVT procedures.
• Collaborate with manufacturing to define ICT and FCT tests.
• Direct PCB layout and perform layout as needed.
• Lead design reviews and sign off on others.
• Maintain accurate BOM in the PLM system.

Skills

Leadership / Team management

Electrical system design

UAS domain knowledge

EMC/EMI design

Communication with manufacturers

Tools

Altium Designer

SPICE-based simulator

Hardware testing equipment

Job description

Eleven Recruiting is searching for a Staff Electrical Engineer for a growing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) manufacturer in the greater Los Angeles area. In this role, you'll own the high-level electrical system design of a major product such as a drone, gimbal or ground control station from conception through sustaining, working closely with the other discipline lead engineers and the product manager to turn product requirements into a system architecture that achieves the product vision with the best compromise of development time, cost and design complexity. You'll also direct a small team of electrical engineers focused on specific subsystems, integrating their designs with your own to build a robust system.

Responsibilities

• Work with a cross-disciplinary team to break down product requirements into clear, testable and traceable formal system and subsystem engineering requirements.
• Estimate the level of effort in engineering hours and total duration of all tasks for a project to support the project manager's schedule.
• Perform trade studies to identify and downselect critical system components and technologies.
• Serve as a subject-matter expert in at least three technologies critical to UAVs.
• Manage a system-level electrical design with application processors and multiple microcontrollers.
• Lead a small team of engineers and integrate their designs into a working system.
• Develop designs that pass electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) regulatory requirements (e.g., MIL-STD-461G, FCC, CE).
• Implement design-for-manufacturing (DFM) and design-for-test (DFT) best practices and feedback.
• Write and execute Engineering Verification Test (EVT) procedures.
• Work with the in-house manufacturing team and contract manufacturers to define in-circuit tests (ICT) and functional circuit tests (FCT).
• Direct and review PCB layout, and perform layout as needed, working with both internal and external layout resources.
• Lead design reviews of the project and sign off on design reviews for others.
• Maintain an accurate electrical bill of materials (BOM) in the product lifecycle management (PLM) system.

Qualifications

• 11-15 years of relevant industry experience, preferably in electronics design, embedded systems or aerospace/UAS sectors.
• In-depth knowledge of high-density interconnect (HDI) PCB technology.
• Proficiency in defining a PCB stackup that minimizes cost while still achieving excellent EMI/EMC performance.
• Detailed understanding of common high-speed serial communication busses (e.g., USB2/3, MIPI D-P-Y, MIPI M-PHY, PCIe, Ethernet).
• Thorough understanding of Power Integrity (PI) and Signal Integrity (SI) design principles, and a solid understanding of electrical signal propagation.
• Proficiency with a SPICE-based circuit simulator or a signal/power integrity design tool (SI/PI).
• Good working knowledge of all key drone technologies, with expert-level experience in at least three (e.g., brushless DC motor drive, inertial sensors, GPS, lithium-ion batteries, camera interfaces, radio modules).
• Proficiency in use of laboratory test equipment.
• Proficiency in Altium Designer.
• Working understanding of Agile and Waterfall design and development methodologies.
• Excellent communication skills in writing reports and corresponding with manufacturers.