Principal Avionics Systems Engineer
About The Position
The Principal Avionics Systems Engineer is a technical leader responsible for defining and delivering the aircraft avionics architecture for prototype and certification aircraft programs. The role covers flight-deck systems, displays, communications, navigation, surveillance, sensors, aircraft data networks, recording systems, and integration with automatic flight control, flight management, vehicle management, fly-by-wire, hybrid-electric propulsion, electrical power, and other aircraft subsystems. The engineer leads avionics architecture development and maturation, requirements and design-baseline work, supplier technical management, and avionics integration and verification. The role coordinates across engineering, flight test, suppliers, and certification stakeholders and supports safety assessments, compliance evidence, and program design reviews.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Electrical, Electronics, Computer, Software or Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- 10+ years of aerospace avionics and aircraft systems development experience, including safety-critical integrated avionics.
- Demonstrated experience progressing an avionics system from concept and architecture through requirements development, supplier design, integration, ground and flight test, and certification readiness.
- Demonstrated experience serving as an avionics architect, Principal Engineer, or technical lead.
- Experience leading cross-functional engineering teams and technically managing avionics suppliers.
Nice To Haves
- Master's degree in a technical and/or management discipline.
Responsibilities
- Lead development and maturation of avionics architecture, functional decomposition, requirements allocation, and design baselines for prototype and certification aircraft programs.
- Establish and maintain avionics system requirements, architecture and design descriptions, Interface Control Documents, performance requirements, and bidirectional traceability.
- Coordinate with VMS/FBW, Electrical, Propulsion, Safety, EWIS, Flight Test, suppliers, and certification stakeholders to identify and close interface gaps.
- Address hybrid-electric aircraft considerations, including power availability, load shedding, propulsion and energy-status data, degraded operating modes, EMI/EMC, and thermal constraints.
- Serve as technical authority for avionics supplier selection, requirements flow-down, design reviews, deliverables, compliance, and issue closure.
- Evaluate supplier architectures and equipment for functional performance, interfaces, safety, environmental qualification, maintainability, and integration readiness.
- Manage technical risks, dependencies, actions, configuration changes, and supplier accountability against program milestones.
- Lead avionics integration and verification across simulation, SIL/HIL, lab, aircraft ground test, and flight test environments.
- Define verification methods, procedures, pass/fail criteria, coverage, and data-review expectations for system and interface requirements.
- Support FHA, PSSA, SSA, compliance plans and reports, certification evidence, SOI readiness, and SRR/IDR/PDR/CDR review packages.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
