Electronics Engineer

Job Title: Electronics Engineer - Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Job Description

The Electronics Engineer will design and develop printed circuit boards for unmanned aircraft and associated ground equipment, owning the complete hardware lifecycle from requirements through production release. Supported systems include flight controllers, power distribution systems, battery management systems, electronic speed controllers, motor drives, and payload electronics. This role focuses on creating technically robust, manufacturable designs for production volumes while working closely with firmware, assembly, manufacturing, and test teams in a highly integrated environment.

Responsibilities

• Design schematics and multi-layer PCB layouts for flight, power, and payload electronics used in unmanned aircraft and ground equipment.
• Own the complete hardware development lifecycle, including requirements definition, schematic capture, PCB layout, prototype bring-up, debugging, validation, and production release.
• Select electronic components based on cost, lead time, second-source availability, and obsolescence risk to ensure reliable, sustainable designs.
• Design battery management circuitry, DC-DC conversion stages, and motor-drive electronics, including high-current ESC designs.
• Apply strong analog and digital circuit design fundamentals to create reliable and high-performance boards.
• Perform hands-on prototype board bring-up, debugging, validation, and fine-pitch rework as needed.
• Use oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and power analyzers to characterize, debug, and validate board performance.
• Develop firmware-level interface specifications and work closely with embedded firmware engineers during hardware bring-up.
• Apply design for manufacturability (DFM) and design for test (DFT) principles to support efficient production and testing.
• Create production test fixtures and functional test procedures to ensure consistent, repeatable verification of hardware.
• Account for EMI/EMC requirements during PCB layout and support related testing activities.
• Support environmental testing of hardware to verify performance under operational conditions.
• Coordinate with contract manufacturers on fabrication and assembly quotes, DFM feedback, and resolution of quality issues.
• Maintain bills of materials, design documentation, and revision control to ensure accurate and traceable hardware configurations.
• Manage BOMs and revision control systems to support production builds and future design updates.
• Support production troubleshooting and investigate board-level test failures to identify root causes and implement corrective actions.
• Collaborate closely with firmware, machining, assembly, manufacturing, and flight-test personnel in a highly integrated environment.
• Contribute to aircraft integration activities and support moving designs from prototype to flight and volume production on compressed timelines.

Essential Skills

• At least 3 years of experience designing PCBs that have successfully shipped in a product.
• Proficiency with Altium, KiCad, or a comparable electronic design automation (EDA) tool for schematic capture and PCB layout.
• Experience designing multi-layer PCB layouts with impedance control for high-performance signal routing.
• Strong fundamentals in both analog and digital circuit design.
• Hands-on experience with board bring-up, debugging, validation, and fine-pitch component rework.
• Power electronics experience, including battery management, DC-DC conversion, and motor-drive circuitry.
• Signal integrity experience to ensure reliable high-speed and sensitive signal performance.
• Proficiency using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and power analyzers for hardware debug and validation.
• Ability to develop firmware-level interface specifications and collaborate effectively with embedded engineers.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent demonstrated experience in hardware design and power electronics.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), robotics, or other size- and weight-constrained electronics.
• Battery management system design experience for high-energy-density applications.
• High-current electronic speed controller (ESC) design experience for motor-drive systems.
• RF layout experience, including antenna integration, coaxial routing, and RF filtering.
• Familiarity with PX4 or ArduPilot hardware ecosystems and related flight-control hardware.
• Experience with EMI/EMC considerations and compliance during PCB layout and design.
• Background in firmware test or close collaboration with embedded firmware teams.
• Ability to work independently, take ownership of a technical area, and operate effectively without a large support structure.
• Strong attention to detail in BOM management, documentation, and revision control.
• Interest in seeing designs progress quickly from concept through prototype to flight and production.

Work Environment

This role is based in an early-stage defense technology environment focused on small unmanned aircraft systems, where electrical design, firmware development, machining, assembly, and flight testing occur under one roof. Engineers work in a small-company, hands-on setting and are expected to engage directly with the hardware they design, including soldering, board rework, prototype bring-up, production troubleshooting, assembly-line support, and aircraft testing. The atmosphere is fast-paced and oriented toward moving production-ready small UAS from prototype to volume delivery on compressed timelines. Employees are encouraged to demonstrate initiative, independently own their technical area, and contribute across disciplines in a highly integrated team.

Job Type & Location

This is a Contract to Hire position based out of Auburn Hills, MI.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $48.00 - $58.00/hr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following: • Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan - Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a fully onsite position in Auburn Hills,MI.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 30, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.