What are the responsibilities and job description for the Principal Electrical Engineer - (board level design) position at Mercury Systems?
Job Summary:
Mercury Systems offers Principal Electrical Engineers a fulfilling career where you will see the direct impact of your board designs in deployed systems with true end-to-end ownership. You're not just implementing requirements; you're architecting ruggedized circuit board solutions that must perform under extreme conditions in real-world defense and aerospace applications. You will lead board-level hardware development for mission-critical embedded computing, high-speed digital systems, advanced FPGA solutions, secure processing, and extreme environment electronics supporting operations across air, land, sea, and space.
We emphasize design quality through collaborative reviews and proactive verification, helping teams deliver reliable solutions efficiently. You will shape the organization's technical direction, establish engineering standards, and drive innovation for high-reliability defense and aerospace applications. At Mercury, we work with an Integrator Mindset, collaborating across sites and disciplines to create board-level solutions that directly impact our country's security.
Job Responsibilities:
- Lead board-level design and development of complex digital circuits and modules from concept through production
- Architect advanced electrical circuit board solutions involving secure processing, storage, networking, FPGAs, high-speed interfaces, and extreme environment electronics
- Develop high-speed digital board designs including 400G Ethernet, PCIe Gen5 , DDR5 , and advanced interconnects
- Establish engineering best practices, board design guidelines, and quality-focused processes that promote proactive verification
- Support proposal development with technical architecting, cost/schedule estimates, and BOE
- Drive board manufacturability (DFM/DFA/DFT) and collaborate with manufacturing on build issues
Required Qualifications:
- BS in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering (Master's preferred)
- Typically requires 6 years of electrical engineering experience in board-level hardware design from concept through production
- Experience designing complex embedded digital hardware with high-speed interfaces, memory technologies, and next-generation interconnects
- Strong understanding of signal integrity
- The ability to obtain a DoD Secret Clearance. U.S. Citizenship is required.
Preferred Experience:
Strong candidates typically have experience in several of the following areas:
Digital & High-Speed Technologies
- Intel or other advanced CPU architectures (Xeon-D, Cascade Lake, Granite Rapids)
- Advanced FPGA board technologies (AMD/Xilinx Versal, Intel/Altera Agilex)
- High-speed board interfaces (400G Ethernet, PCIe Gen5 , DDR5 )
- Advanced network interface board designs (Nvidia, Broadcom, Marvell)
DoD/Aerospace & Rugged Systems
- VPX/VITA board standards (3U/6U), COM Express, or SoM architectures
- MIL-STD board development in rugged environments
- Secure processing, anti-tamper, or DRFM board designs
- Space electronics or radiation-tolerant component integration
Tools & Analysis
- Cadence schematic capture tools (DEHDL/Concept) or equivalent
- Cadence Allegro or equivalent CAD/SI tools
- Reliability/stress analysis (FMECA, derating)
- Requirements and workflow tools (DOORS, JAMA, JIRA, Confluence)
Leadership & Collaboration
- Experience mentoring engineers and leading technical teams
- Experience supporting proposals, cost/schedule estimates, and BOE development
Location:
- This is a hybrid position; candidate must be in a commutable distance to one of the following Mercury Systems locations:
- Torrance, CA
- Cypress, CA
- Phoenix, AZ
Mercury Systems is also hiring Electrical / Hardware Engineers for our MA and NH locations. See our Careers page for more details.