Principal Electronics Systems Engineer in Santa Maria, California at Aurex

Principal Electronics Systems Engineer
Santa Maria, CA

Who We Are

Aurex is a mission-focused aerospace and defense company building the next frontier of deterrence. From hypersonics and missile defense to hardened networks and orbital systems, we design, test, and deliver the platforms that turn unproven ideas into battlefield-ready capability. Born in Huntsville and built for speed, Aurex brings together aerospace veterans, combat-tested operators, and forward-leaning technologists to solve problems that matter—fast. We move from whiteboard to warfighter with precision, clarity, and zero tolerance for fluff.

Job Summary

Aurex is seeking a Principal Electronics Systems Engineer to lead hardware architecture, development, integration, and sustainment. The initial primary assignment is DICES, Aurex’s established IP-based mission voice communications product. This position also supports similar engineering projects across the broader Aurex portfolio as business needs require.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role with ownership of design decisions from requirements through production and field support. You will work across electronics, embedded computing, software, and mechanical interfaces, resolve customer and supplier issues, and build technical depth across the team.

Key Responsibilities

• Own hardware architecture, design decisions, interface definitions, and engineering estimates from requirements through production and field support.
• Design analog, digital, and mixed-signal circuits; create and review schematics, select components, and guide PCB layout while balancing reliability, manufacturability, schedule, and cost.
• Lead hardware bring-up, integration, troubleshooting, and verification, including applicable environmental and compliance testing.
• Resolve issues spanning electronics, firmware, software, power, cabling, and packaging; challenge impractical requirements and propose workable alternatives.
• Own hardware lifecycle planning, manage obsolescence and supply risks, and qualify replacement components for installed products.
• Work directly with customers, suppliers, and manufacturing partners to resolve technical issues, support repeatable production, and provide technical scope and estimates for quotations and changes.
• Lead technical assessments, design reviews, integration, and troubleshooting across the broader Aurex portfolio; coordinate priorities and flag resource conflicts before they affect deliveries.
• Maintain configuration-controlled designs, bills of materials, test procedures, and manufacturing documentation; verify changes against quality and customer requirements.
• Mentor engineers, document technical decisions, and share product knowledge, proven designs, and tools across teams.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a closely related STEM discipline.
• 15+ years of progressively responsible electronics engineering experience, including hands-on design and technical leadership of complete products or subsystems through production and sustainment.
• Hands-on analog, digital, and mixed-signal circuit design experience, with ownership of architecture, design tradeoffs, verification, and production release.
• Experience with embedded computing, audio interfaces, real-time communications, or comparable electronic systems requiring reliable operation.
• Proficiency with schematic capture and PCB design tools such as Altium Designer, plus circuit simulation and laboratory troubleshooting.
• Working knowledge of signal integrity, grounding, power distribution, EMI/EMC, and electromechanical integration, including connectors, cabling, enclosures, and thermal considerations.
• Experience resolving component availability, supplier, and production issues; ability to lead unfamiliar technical assignments and communicate engineering risks clearly.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with mission voice, intercom, conferencing, audio processing, TDM interfaces, or IP-based communications hardware.
• Experience with legacy electronics modernization, obsolescence management, and replacement component qualification.
• Experience developing firmware or automated hardware tests using C, C++, or Python; familiarity with mechanical CAD tools such as SolidWorks.
• Experience with contract manufacturing, regulated or high-reliability products, and mentoring engineers across multiple programs.

Location: Santa Maria, CA

How You Will Be Rewarded

The salary for this role is $190,000 - $210,000 annually. We offer a comprehensive total rewards approach to compensation, providing incentives and benefits that extend far beyond the base salary. Compensation is determined by the candidate’s work experience, education, training, and relevant skills. We offer a competitive benefits package designed to support our employees' health, well-being, and professional growth.

The posted salary range represents Aurex’s good-faith estimate of the anticipated hiring range for this position. The specific salary offered within this range will be determined based on the candidate’s relevant experience, education, training, and job-related qualifications.

Aurex is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It prohibits discrimination, retaliation, or any type of harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, citizenship, immigration status, or any other legally protected status in employment, including in hiring, firing, and recruiting decisions. All applicants must be authorized to work lawfully in the United States for positions at Aurex. There may be limited circumstances in which a law, regulation, executive order, or government contract would require certain citizenship; only in those limited circumstances would Aurex require certain citizenship status to comply with the relevant law, regulation, executive order, or government contract applicable to that position. For all other positions, Aurex does not consider an applicant’s citizenship but only requires that the applicant be authorized to work lawfully in the United States. If a position is one that falls under export control laws and regulations requiring authorization from the U.S. government to access export-controlled items, any hiring is contingent on the applicant passing the export compliance assessment, which is separate from the I-9 process, for that specific position. A background check will be required prior to any hire.

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