Drone Avionics Engineer

Drone Mid-level (L4 equivalent) 2-5 years

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Anduril

Skydio

Shield AI

Zipline

DJI

AeroVironment

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The job description

Tech stack. Flight controllers (Pixhawk, Cube), IMU/GNSS/barometer integration, CAN bus, UART/SPI/I2C, EMI/EMC mitigation, power distribution design, Altium, environmental testing

About the role

You will join a drone technology company as the engineer who makes the aircraft's nervous system work: sensors, flight controllers, wiring, and power delivery. You own avionics architecture from sensor selection through harness routing, making sure every signal arrives clean and every component survives the electromagnetic chaos of a spinning multirotor. When avionics works, nobody notices; your craft is what makes that invisibility possible, flight after flight, across the entire fleet. You will also own the EMI/EMC mitigation strategy, since high-current ESC switching sits centimeters from sensitive GNSS and IMU sensors on every airframe.

What you will achieve

Architect avionics suites for new platforms, selecting flight controllers, sensors, and companion computers that meet performance, cost, and size-weight-and-power targets without overdesign.
Cut avionics-related flight incidents by hardening designs against EMI, vibration, and thermal issues through targeted testing and enforceable design rules.
Reduce wiring weight and assembly time by designing clean harness architectures with standardized connectors, serviceable routing, and clear labeling.
Bring up new sensor integrations, including GNSS modules, magnetometers, airspeed sensors, and optical flow units, from datasheet review to validated flight performance.
Own avionics acceptance testing, creating bench and flight test procedures that catch integration defects before aircraft ever reach customers.

What you will bring

Must-haves

2-5 years of experience designing or integrating avionics for UAVs, robotics, or aerospace systems with real flight hardware.
Hands-on experience with flight controller hardware (Pixhawk/Cube class) and peripheral sensor integration over CAN, UART, SPI, and I2C.
Practical understanding of EMI/EMC issues in dense electromechanical systems and proven mitigation techniques including shielding, grounding, and filtering.
Ability to design and troubleshoot power distribution: voltage regulation, current budgets, inrush management, and protection for avionics loads.
Experience reading and creating wiring diagrams, harness drawings, and connector pinouts that manufacturing can build from reliably.
Familiarity with environmental testing: vibration, temperature, and humidity qualification of electronic assemblies for airborne use.
Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or a related field.

Nice-to-haves

PCB design experience in Altium or KiCad for avionics carrier boards and interface modules.
Experience with redundant avionics architectures and failover logic for safety-critical functions.
Knowledge of DO-160 environmental test categories and how to scope testing efficiently.
Background in lightning or HIRF protection concepts for larger UAS platforms.