Electrical Engineer III, Mixed Signal and PCB in Rockford, Illinois at Kaney Aerospace LLC

Job Summary:

The Electrical Engineer will play a key role in the design and development of advanced electromechanical actuation systems for aerospace applications. This position is responsible for creating robust, high reliability electronic hardware, including analog and digital circuitry, mixed signal PCB designs, and embedded control electronics, that meet stringent aerospace performance and environmental requirements. The engineer will collaborate closely with cross functional teams to ensure seamless integration of electrical, mechanical, and software elements within safety critical actuation products. The ideal candidate brings strong technical depth in schematic design, PCB layout, and mixed signal electronics, along with hands on experience supporting verification, troubleshooting, and certification activities in a regulated aerospace environment.

Major Responsibilities:

• Lead the design, analysis, and verification of electrical architectures for electro-mechanical actuation systems (utility EMAs, flight-control actuators, flight control computers, etc.).
• Develop analog and digital schematics for control electronics, sensor interfaces, motor-drive circuitry, and embedded control modules.
• Own PCB design and layout from concept through release, including component selection, stack-up definition, routing constraints, and DFM/DFT considerations.
• Collaborate with mechanical, systems, and software engineering teams to ensure electrical-mechanical integration, EMC robustness, and environmental compliance.
• Perform circuit analysis (signal integrity, noise, grounding, filtering, timing, thermal, and reliability assessments).
• Support requirements development, allocation, and traceability for electrical subsystems in accordance with DO-254, DO-160, ARP4754, and other aerospace or military standards.
• Execute design reviews, FMEAs, and risk assessments for electronics hardware.
• Develop and execute verification and validation test plans, including bench testing, environmental testing, and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) setups.
• Troubleshoot and resolve issues related to PCB performance, EMI/EMC, digital communication buses, and sensor/actuator interfaces.
• Generate and maintain technical documentation, including schematics, PCB fabrication files, test reports, and certification artifacts.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in electrical design for aerospace, defense, or high-reliability electromechanical systems.
• Strong proficiency with PCB design tools such as Altium Designer.

Minimum Competencies:

• Demonstrated ability to design complex multilayer PCBs with mixed-signal, high-density, and high-reliability constraints.
• Expertise in analog and digital circuit design, including op-amps, ADC/DAC interfaces, microcontrollers, FPGAs, communication buses (CAN, RS-485, ARINC-429, etc.).
• Knowledge of motor control electronics (BLDC, PMSM, resolver interfaces, position feedback) is a plus.
• Familiarity with EMC mitigation techniques, grounding, shielding, and filtering.
• Understanding of aerospace environmental requirements (DO-160) and hardware development processes (DO-254).
• Ability to interpret and generate schematics, wiring diagrams, and harness drawings.
• Strong troubleshooting skills using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, and other lab equipment.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work cross-functionally in a regulated engineering environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with safety-critical actuation systems or flight-control hardware.
• Familiarity with reliability engineering, derating analysis, and aerospace component selection.
• Exposure to embedded firmware or FPGA development for hardware bring-up and testing.
• Experience supporting certification efforts with OEMs or regulatory bodies.

Preferred Competencies:

• Simulation experience
• Experience with MATLAB/Simulink
• Experience in NI LabVIEW
• Experience in a lab, safely working with voltages greater than 500V

Operational Details / Work Environment

• Work will be performed both in an office environment and in a laboratory environment.
• Travel to customer site may be required.
• PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) may be required in some workspaces.