Senior Electrical Engineer, Design

Firestorm
  • San Diego, California
    13 days ago

    Job Description

    Who We Are
    At Firestorm, we’re on a mission to revolutionize how defense solutions are designed and delivered. Our goal is to empower U.S. ally nations to effectively deter aggressors—regardless of their defense budget—through innovative, cost-efficient technologies. We call this vision “democratized deterrence.” As a VC-backed company at the intersection of defense and Silicon Valley, we’re pioneering the development of mission-adaptable aerial vehicles that put power back into the hands of operators. By prioritizing operator effectiveness, we’re pioneering a new era of aerial vehicle design. We aim to upend the traditional defense procurement model by delivering world-class capabilities at a fraction of the usual cost. Join us at Firestorm as we redefine defense procurement, making cutting-edge technology accessible to all at a fraction of the cost. 

    About the Role
    As a Senior Electrical Engineer, you will play a central role in developing critical electrical hardware for our aircraft. The role spans complex technical challenges including power distribution, power conversion, battery charging, high-performance processing, high-speed network communications, and system-level electrical integration.

    This is a hands-on engineering role for someone with deep technical expertise in power electronics and electrical system design who is comfortable moving between detailed circuit development, system-level tradeoffs, and difficult hardware debugging.

    What You’ll Do
    • Evaluate, interpret and resolve systems engineering problems to meet the design requirements
    • Full-cycle hardware development: Own the entire flow — concept, modeling, worst case analysis, schematic capture, simulation, prototyping, design reiteration for improving design maturity, testing and validation
    • Design embedded control electronics from concept to production, including hardware selection, schematic & PCB design, board bring-up, system-level integration, and flight test
    • Design multilayer, HDI, flex, and rigid-flex PCBs for space-, weight-, and thermally constrained applications
    • Generate comprehensive engineering documentation, including ECOs, fabrication drawings, BOMs, and release packages
    • Conduct root cause analysis of PCB design or layout issues, identify corrective actions, and implement solutions to improve performance, manufacturability, or reliability
    • Design and maintain cable harness documentation using Altium Harness Designer
    • Interface with vendors to source and select appropriate components for designs, ensuring quality and timely delivery
    • Project Management: Support project timelines and ensure that technical milestones are met, reporting on progress to senior management
    • Work closely with other electrical, mechanical, software, firmware, and test engineers to deliver fully functional products

    Required Qualifications
    • Bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics, or a related technical field
    • Minimum 5+ years of experience designing and releasing electrical hardware for products that have shipped, flown, operated in the field, or otherwise seen real-world use
    • U.S. Person status (Citizen or Permanent Resident) required due to ITAR regulations
    • Strong electrical engineering fundamentals across analog, digital, mixed-signal, power, sensing, and communication circuits
    • Strong proficiency with industry-standard EDA tools (e.g., Altium Designer, Cadence Allegro/OrCAD)
    • Working knowledge of PCB layout tradeoffs, signal integrity, power integrity, grounding, EMI/EMC, thermal behavior, and manufacturability
    • Familiarity with signal integrity and transmission line concepts (e.g., phase matching, crosstalk, insertion/return loss, termination, and BGA breakout strategies)
    • Strong root-cause analysis skills and the ability to move from ambiguous symptoms to clear technical conclusions and practical corrective actions
    • Clear communication and documentation habits, especially when decisions affect safety, reliability, production, or fleet operations
     
    Preferred Qualifications
    • Experience with avionics, aerospace, drones, robotics, automotive electronics, satellites, or other high-reliability hardware.
    • Experience designing for weight, power consumption, thermal limits, vibration, shock, EMI/EMC, environmental exposure, or high-volume manufacturing.
    • Familiarity with signal integrity simulation and analysis tools
    • Experience with CAN, UART, SPI, I2C, Ethernet, GNSS, radios, motor-control electronics, battery systems, or sensor interfaces.

    Numbers & Facts

    LocationSan Diego, California

    Skills

    • Aerospace and Defenseunmatched
    • Analysis Skillsunmatched
    • Avionicsunmatched
    • Ball Grid Array (BGA)unmatched
    • Broadbandunmatched
    • Budgetingunmatched
    • Cadence Allegrounmatched
    • Communication Skillsunmatched
    • Component Selectionunmatched
    • Computer Firmwareunmatched
    • Computer Networksunmatched
    • Corrective Actionunmatched
    • Crosstalkunmatched
    • Documentationunmatched
    • Electrical Designunmatched
    • Electrical Engineeringunmatched
    • Electricityunmatched
    • Electromagnetic Compatibilityunmatched
    • Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)unmatched
    • Electronic Designunmatched
    • Electronicsunmatched
    • Embedded Systemsunmatched
    • Establish Prioritiesunmatched
    • Hardware Debuggingunmatched
    • Hardware Developmentunmatched
    • High Reliabilityunmatched
    • Identify Issuesunmatched
    • Industry Standardsunmatched
    • Integration Testingunmatched
    • Leading Edge Technologyunmatched
    • Manufacturingunmatched
    • OrCADunmatched
    • Performance Managementunmatched
    • Physicsunmatched
    • Printed Circuit Board (PCB)unmatched
    • Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Layoutunmatched
    • Printed Circuit Board Designunmatched
    • Problem Solving Skillsunmatched
    • Progress Reportsunmatched
    • Project/Program Managementunmatched
    • Prototypingunmatched
    • Purchasing/Procurementunmatched
    • Regulationsunmatched
    • Requirements Managementunmatched
    • Roboticsunmatched
    • Root Cause Analysisunmatched
    • Schematic Captureunmatched
    • Schematicsunmatched
    • Signal Integrityunmatched
    • Simulationunmatched
    • System Integration (SI)unmatched
    • Systems Engineeringunmatched
    • Test Designunmatched
    • Testingunmatched
    • Time Managementunmatched
    • Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)unmatched
    • Validation Testingunmatched
    • Vehicle Fleetsunmatched
    • Vendor/Supplier Relationsunmatched
    • Wire Harnessunmatched

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