Electrical Sustainment Engineer at INNOVATIVE AEROSYSTEMS – EXTON, Pennsylvania

Innovative Aerosystems is an aerospace manufacturer and engineering company specializing in the design, development, and production of high-reliability flight-critical systems. Our portfolio includes advanced flight control and actuation systems, power distribution units, avionics, and mission-critical electronic assemblies used on commercial, business, and special mission aircraft.

We combine rigorous engineering discipline with a hands-on, collaborative culture, operating within an AS9100-compliant environment and supporting both new development and long-term in-service sustainment. Our teams work closely with major OEMs, operators, and MROs to deliver safe, reliable, and cost-effective solutions that keep aircraft flying longer and performing better.

At Innovative Aerosystems, engineers are empowered to own their products across the full lifecycle—design, certification, production, and sustainment—while contributing directly to the safety and efficiency of global aviation.

The Electrical Sustainment Engineer is responsible for maintaining, improving, and supporting certified aerospace electrical and electronic products throughout their lifecycle, from production through in-service operation.

In this mid to senior-level role, you will:

• Own electrical sustaining activities for assigned avionics, power, control, or actuation products
• Resolve production and in-service issues, component obsolescence, and reliability problems
• Drive engineering change activity within an AS9100-compliant environment
• Ensure continued airworthiness, regulatory compliance, and configuration control

You will collaborate closely with systems, mechanical, manufacturing, test, quality, supply chain, and customer support teams, as well as with customers and suppliers, to ensure safe, reliable, and cost-effective operation of Innovative Aerosystems’ products.

• Lead investigation and resolution of electrical issues from production test, qualification, and in-service field reports.
• Perform structured root cause analysis on board- and system-level failures (RMA/FRACAS, 8D, 5-Why, fault tree).
• Provide engineering dispositions for nonconformances, concessions, and deviations (MRB support).
• Support customer service and airline/MRO teams with technical assessments and corrective actions.

• Own and implement electrical Engineering Change Requests/Orders (ECRs/ECOs) for certified aerospace hardware (PCBs, harnesses, LRUs, electronic control units, sensors, power electronics).
• Manage component obsolescence and DMSMS: identify alternates, perform form/fit/function and risk assessments, and qualify replacements.
• Implement design improvements to address reliability, manufacturability, serviceability, and cost, while preserving performance, safety, and certification basis.
• Maintain strict configuration control, traceability, and documentation in accordance with AS9100 and internal procedures.

• Support production test yield improvement and recurring production issues, including test procedure updates and fixture/interface improvements.
• Assist introduction of design changes into production: pilot builds, first-article inspections, and build validation.
• Provide technical guidance on electrical inspection, acceptance test requirements, and troubleshooting to production and repair stations.

• Perform analysis of analog, digital, and power electronics circuits to justify changes and assess performance margins.
• Define and/or review verification and validation plans and test procedures for design changes, regression testing, and re-qualification (bench, environmental, EMC, vibration, HIRF, etc.).
• Support or lead execution of tests in environmental and EMI/EMC labs; review test data and document results.
• Contribute to certification artifacts and continued airworthiness documentation (e.g., compliance matrices, test reports, impact assessments, safety and reliability inputs).

• Ensure that design changes maintain compliance with applicable aerospace standards and regulations, which may include:
  • RTCA/DO-160 (environmental conditions and test procedures)
  • RTCA/DO-254 (if applicable for complex electronic hardware)
  • MIL-STD-461/810 or similar aerospace/defense standards
  • Company and customer specifications, DER/ODA/Designated Engineering Representative requirements
• Support quality, regulatory, and customer audits; prepare technical responses and corrective action plans as needed.

• Work with supply chain and suppliers to qualify alternate components, review supplier changes, and resolve technical issues.
• Interface with customers’ engineering and airworthiness organizations to address technical queries and in-service findings.
• Provide technical leadership and mentorship to junior engineers and technicians on sustaining engineering practices.

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or closely related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in electrical/electronic design, sustaining engineering, or product support, with significant experience in aerospace, defense, or aviation.
• Strong hands-on troubleshooting skills for PCBAs and electronic systems using lab equipment (oscilloscopes, DMMs, power analyzers, logic analyzers, etc.).
• Proficiency reading and creating schematics, BOMs, and PCB documentation; experience with at least one major ECAD tool (e.g., Altium, OrCAD, Mentor).
• Demonstrated experience implementing and documenting engineering changes in a controlled PLM/ERP and configuration-managed environment.
• Working knowledge of aerospace quality and documentation practices (e.g., AS9100, first article inspection, configuration and change control).
• Experience with structured root cause and corrective action methodologies (8D, Ishikawa, FMEA, FTA, 5-Why, etc.).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to produce clear technical reports and communicate with customers and non-electrical stakeholders.

• Experience with avionics, flight controls, actuation systems, power distribution, or high-reliability airborne electronics.
• Familiarity with one or more of:
• RTCA/DO-160, DO-254, DO-178 interface expectations, ARP4754/ARP4761 flows
  • MIL-STD-461/464/810 or equivalent aerospace environmental/EMI standards
• Experience with reliability and in-service performance tools/processes (FRACAS, FMECA, reliability growth analysis).
• Background supporting certification or major changes on Part 23/25/27/29 or military platforms (TC/STC, TSO, PMA, etc.).
• Experience working with external labs for environmental and EMI/EMC testing.
• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• Prior mentoring or technical leadership of other engineers/technicians.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a practical, hands-on mindset.
• High attention to detail and discipline in documentation and configuration control.
• Customer- and safety-focused, with a strong sense of ownership and urgency in resolving production and in-service issues.
• Able to work independently while effectively collaborating across engineering, operations, quality, and customer-facing teams.
• Comfortable balancing design rigor and certification needs with production and schedule pressures.

U.S. PERSON REQUIREMENTS

Due to compliance with U.S. export control laws and regulations, candidate must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, or have asylum or refugee status in the U.S.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.

IA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.