Principal Electrical Engineer

SUMMARY:

The primary responsibility of the Principal Electrical Engineer is to provide extensive electronics theory/knowledge for implementation or resolving issues. At that Principal level, you will be guiding junior engineers/technicians for the tasks required. Specific tasks may include, advising on engineering processes, environmental testing expertise, circuit analysis, layout and signal integrity analysis, test equipment use (oscilloscope, logic analyzer, vector signal generator/analyzer, multimeters, etc), production and in-field issues debugging, data collection, and basic software programming.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Being accountable and lead the architectural design for new products, new product development and research activities.
• Being accountable for developing to RTCA DO-254 lifecycle activities and deliverables for Electronic HW and FPGA-based airborne hardware.
• Being responsible for developing to RTCA DO-160 qualification activities including test planning, execution, and reporting for Electronic HW and FPGA-based airborne hardware.
• Being responsible for developing circuits, boards, and rugged electronic hardware assemblies across the entire product life cycle, including concept and requirements definition, design, prototyping, verification (power-on, functional / acceptance / qualification testing) and release to production
• Being responsible for developing analog, digital, and mixed-signal designs that interact with avionics systems, including analysis, schematic capture, layout, design review, testing, validation & verification (VAVE), and qualification release.
• Being responsible for developing for Hardware Design risk analyses, failure modes effects and criticality analyses (FMECA), Design For test/manufacture/cost (DfX), and root-cause analysis of product test and manufacturing discrepancies.
• Being responsible for performing design studies, material and component selection, and all relevant electronic hardware design and development processes identification.
• Being responsible for interfacing with Production and sustaining Engineering by supporting transfer of new products, sustaining existing products, train production personnel.
• Being responsible as the technical lead to suppliers and customers for projects as required.
• Being responsible for working closely with the Product Development team and Project Management team throughout the avionics hardware development lifecycle
• To support and maintain engineering data through Engineering Change Management of configuration
• To support the release of new products by creating part numbers, bills of material, assisting with assembly and test instructions, and circuit card fabrication and assembly documentation.
• To support product development milestone reviews including PDR, CDR, SDR etc.
• Ability to work independently and efficiently to finish tasks required

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

• S. in Electrical Engineering or equivalent or related field with minimum 12 years of direct experience in electronics hardware design and development
• Direct hands-on experience with embedded system design, FPGA, microcontrollers, analog/digital circuit design, DC power management and distribution.
• Knowledge of EMI/EMC principles and design.
• Knowledge of PCB (rigid, flex, and rigid-flex) layout design and fabrication, transmission lines, signal integrity, and grounding.
• Knowledge of IPC standards for class 2 board assemblies.
• Experience using Altium, Cadence OrCAD / Allegro (or similar tools) and experience working with external board manufacturing and assembly vendors.
• Experience designing for high-reliability products. Familiarity with DO-160 and DO-254 is a plus.
• Hands-on experience with test equipment (oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, meters, etc.).
• Some experience with scripting; programming and analysis/modeling tools: Python, Linux/Windows shell scripting; assembly language, C, C ; MATLAB / Simulink / SPICE (or similar).
• FPGA development experience will be a plus.
• RF circuit design experience will be a plus.
• Strong technical communication skills (written and verbal).
• Strong analytical thinking skills.

LANGUAGE SKILLS

The applicant must be able to read, write, and understand English fluently. Qualified candidates should be able to speak effectively to customers about company products and how they perform. The applicant must possess the ability to write routine reports and correspondences.

OTHER KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES 

Candidates must have a strong command of computer desktop tools such as MS Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook) to assist in completing essential duties. Effectively demonstrates strong written and verbal communication skills. Syteline experience is preferred but not required.

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

The requirements listed below are representative of the education, knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

Ability Travel domestically and internationally less than 25%

PERFORMANCE ATTRIBUTES & COMPETENCIES:

Leadership

• Vision & Strategic Thinking: Clear vision for the possible…thinks ahead about outcomes.
• Energy: Exhibits strong desire to achieve success.
• Problem-Solver: Objectively and logically recognizes and solves problems.

Interpersonal & Teamwork

• Team Player: Reaches out to overcome walls; overcomes "we-they" relationships; approachable and earns respect for focus on "company" interests.
• Communication: Speaks confidently and effectively in one-on-one, team and public settings; writes clearly and concisely.
• Persuasive: Exhibits persuasiveness in changing situations and effectively finds win-win solutions.

Personal & Intellectual

• Integrity: Sets example; doesn't ethically cut corners; earns trust and respect.
• Intelligence: A "quick study" demonstrates the ability to absorb new information rapidly.
• Leading-Edge: Constantly looking for best practice benchmarks.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

While performing the duties of this job, the person is occasionally required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, reach with arms and hands, climb stairs, stoop, kneel, crouch, talk or hear.  The person must occasionally lift and/or move up to 30lbs. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an Associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  The Associate should be able to see, hear and understand speech, communicate, lift computer equipment, supplies and materials, and use office equipment and computers.  If requested by an applicant or employee, we may provide reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.  The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed.  They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all duties required of personnel so classified. We have the exclusive right to alter this job description at any time without notice.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

While performing the duties of this job, the person is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time and an air-conditioned and heated office.  The noise level is occasionally high.

FreeFlight Systems & Flight Data Systems is fully committed to Equal Employment Opportunity and to attracting, retaining, developing and promoting the most qualified employees without regard to their race, gender, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, citizenship status, veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited by federal or state law. We are dedicated to providing a work environment free from discrimination and harassment, and where employees are treated with respect and dignity.