AA
Lead Electrical & RF Engineer
Accepting applicationsAcron Aviation · Grand Rapids, MI
Full-Time Principal AIFPGARFanalogmixed-signal
Posted
3d ago
Category
Verification
Experience
Principal
Country
United States
About Acron Aviation (Avionics – Surveillance)
Acron Aviation designs, engineers, and manufactures certified avionics systems that support safety-critical flight operations across commercial and military aviation. Within Avionics, the Surveillance product line develops and sustains systems that enable aircraft awareness, collision avoidance, and airspace interoperability. Our portfolio includes TCAS, Mode S transponders, ADS-B, and integrated surveillance solutions deployed across commercial, military, and rotorcraft platforms. This work is performed in highly regulated environments and demands deep expertise across systems, hardware, software, and RF throughout the full product lifecycle.
Job Title
Lead Electrical & RF Engineer – Surveillance
Position Summary
The Lead Electrical & RF Engineer is responsible for the technical leadership, architecture, development, certification support, and lifecycle management of advanced avionics systems spanning both electrical engineering and radio frequency (RF) domains.
This role leads electrical, RF, and hardware engineering activities for airborne products, including transponder, TCAS, surveillance, and communications systems, while ensuring compliance with aerospace standards and customer requirements.
The position serves as the primary technical authority for RF and electrical hardware development, requirements definition, and design execution, including oversight of external engineering partners and contract design organizations. The successful candidate will drive innovation in Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C) optimization, lead RF architecture and performance trade studies, leverage AI-enabled engineering tools to improve productivity and automation, and own the development of product hardware requirements and design documentation throughout the product lifecycle
Technical Leadership
Lead electrical engineering activities for the development of RF airborne avionics products from concept through certification and production
Define system architecture and allocate requirements across RF, analog, digital, mixed-signal, software, FPGA/firmware, mechanical, and systems engineering disciplines
Serve as technical lead for surveillance, communications, and collision avoidance products, including Mode S transponders, ADS-B systems, and TCAS equipment
Provide technical guidance, mentorship, and engineering oversight to multidisciplinary development teams across EE and RF domains
Support strategic product roadmaps and technology initiatives, including next-generation RF and avionics platform capabilities
RF Leadership & Integration
Lead RF architecture, design integration, and technical decision-making for avionics products
Establish RF performance requirements and budgets for gain, noise figure, linearity, selectivity, isolation, spurious response, dynamic range, and coexistence requirements
Drive RF trade studies and design reviews covering circuit design, layout, shielding, grounding, EMI/EMC, and environmental constraints
Coordinate RF validation, laboratory characterization, and system integration activities
Support certification readiness by ensuring RF-related design evidence, test coverage, and compliance artifacts are complete and defensible
Requirements Development & Ownership
Develop, maintain, and own Hardware Requirements Documents (HRDs) and associated derived requirements
Ensure traceability between customer, system, hardware, software, and certification requirements
Lead requirements decomposition, validation, verification planning, and change management activities
Establish acceptance criteria and verification methods for hardware requirements
Outsourced Development Oversight
Manage and provide technical oversight of outsourced engineering partners responsible for RF, electrical, and hardware development activities
Define statements of work, technical deliverables, schedules, design reviews, and acceptance criteria
Conduct design audits and technical reviews to ensure compliance with company standards and certification requirements
Coordinate technical communication between internal stakeholders and external development organizations
Assess supplier technical risks and implement mitigation strategies
Hardware Design & Development
Direct the design and development of complex digital, analog, mixed-signal, RF, and power electronics hardware
Review schematics, RF signal chain implementation, PCB layouts, component selections, engineering analyses, and test results
Ensure designs meet performance, reliability, manufacturability, maintainability, and certification objectives
Support RF/hardware, hardware/software, FPGA, and system-level integration activities
Drive design margins that support DO-160 environmental qualification and EMI/EMC robustness requirements
Product Optimization
Lead initiatives to reduce Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C) across avionics product portfolios
Drive design trade studies that balance performance, manufacturability, certification, and lifecycle objectives
Promote Design for Manufacturability, Design for Cost, Design for Test, and Design for Reliability principles
Establish engineering metrics and practices supporting next-generation avionics solutions
Artificial Intelligence & Engineering Automation
Champion the adoption of AI technologies to improve engineering productivity, quality, and development efficiency
Maintain a continuous improvement mindset and evaluate opportunities to streamline engineering workflows
Evaluate emerging AI technologies and integrate effective practices into engineering processes to reduce repetitive and low-value work
Verification & Validation
Lead hardware verification and validation activities throughout the product lifecycle, primarily through oversight of outsourced development partners
Review and approve test plans, procedures, reports, and qualification data
Support root cause analysis, troubleshooting, and corrective action investigations
Ensure complete verification coverage and certification evidence generation
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related engineering discipline
10+ years of experience in aerospace, avionics, or safety-critical electronic product development
5+ years of technical leadership experience leading complex avionics RF and electrical hardware development programs
Experience managing and overseeing external engineering design partners or contract development organizations
Strong understanding of RTCA DO-160 environmental qualification requirements and RF/EE integration challenges in airborne systems
Experience developing and managing hardware requirements documentation and requirements traceability
Expertise in digital, analog, mixed-signal, RF, and power electronics design
Experience supporting certification and regulatory compliance activities
Preferred Additional Skills
Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related discipline
Experience with FAA, EASA, TSO, ETSO, and military avionics programs
Familiarity with DO-254, DO-178C, ARP4754A, and ARP4761 development processes
Deep experience with RF systems and surveillance technologies including Mode S Transponders, ADS-B, IFF, DME, TCAS, or ACAS
Experience implementing AI-assisted engineering workflows and automation solutions
Experience with DOORS requirements management
Experience with Altium design tools
Project leadership or engineering management experience
Key Competencies
Technical leadership
RF and electrical systems thinking
Requirements engineering
Supplier management
Product ownership
Strategic planning
Risk management
Cross-functional collaboration
AI-enabled engineering innovation
Continuous improvement mindset
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Ability to influence technical direction across organizations
Equal Opportunity Statement
Acron Aviation is proud to be an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to treating all employees and applicants with respect and dignity and to maintaining a workplace free from unlawful discrimination. All applicants will be considered for employment regardless of race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or other related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other legally protected characteristic.
Additional Information
Acron Aviation maintains a drug-free workplace and conducts pre-employment substance abuse testing and background checks, where allowed by law. Acron Aviation is an E-Verify employer.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
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Acron Aviation designs, engineers, and manufactures certified avionics systems that support safety-critical flight operations across commercial and military aviation. Within Avionics, the Surveillance product line develops and sustains systems that enable aircraft awareness, collision avoidance, and airspace interoperability. Our portfolio includes TCAS, Mode S transponders, ADS-B, and integrated surveillance solutions deployed across commercial, military, and rotorcraft platforms. This work is performed in highly regulated environments and demands deep expertise across systems, hardware, software, and RF throughout the full product lifecycle.
Job Title
Lead Electrical & RF Engineer – Surveillance
Position Summary
The Lead Electrical & RF Engineer is responsible for the technical leadership, architecture, development, certification support, and lifecycle management of advanced avionics systems spanning both electrical engineering and radio frequency (RF) domains.
This role leads electrical, RF, and hardware engineering activities for airborne products, including transponder, TCAS, surveillance, and communications systems, while ensuring compliance with aerospace standards and customer requirements.
The position serves as the primary technical authority for RF and electrical hardware development, requirements definition, and design execution, including oversight of external engineering partners and contract design organizations. The successful candidate will drive innovation in Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C) optimization, lead RF architecture and performance trade studies, leverage AI-enabled engineering tools to improve productivity and automation, and own the development of product hardware requirements and design documentation throughout the product lifecycle
Technical Leadership
Lead electrical engineering activities for the development of RF airborne avionics products from concept through certification and production
Define system architecture and allocate requirements across RF, analog, digital, mixed-signal, software, FPGA/firmware, mechanical, and systems engineering disciplines
Serve as technical lead for surveillance, communications, and collision avoidance products, including Mode S transponders, ADS-B systems, and TCAS equipment
Provide technical guidance, mentorship, and engineering oversight to multidisciplinary development teams across EE and RF domains
Support strategic product roadmaps and technology initiatives, including next-generation RF and avionics platform capabilities
RF Leadership & Integration
Lead RF architecture, design integration, and technical decision-making for avionics products
Establish RF performance requirements and budgets for gain, noise figure, linearity, selectivity, isolation, spurious response, dynamic range, and coexistence requirements
Drive RF trade studies and design reviews covering circuit design, layout, shielding, grounding, EMI/EMC, and environmental constraints
Coordinate RF validation, laboratory characterization, and system integration activities
Support certification readiness by ensuring RF-related design evidence, test coverage, and compliance artifacts are complete and defensible
Requirements Development & Ownership
Develop, maintain, and own Hardware Requirements Documents (HRDs) and associated derived requirements
Ensure traceability between customer, system, hardware, software, and certification requirements
Lead requirements decomposition, validation, verification planning, and change management activities
Establish acceptance criteria and verification methods for hardware requirements
Outsourced Development Oversight
Manage and provide technical oversight of outsourced engineering partners responsible for RF, electrical, and hardware development activities
Define statements of work, technical deliverables, schedules, design reviews, and acceptance criteria
Conduct design audits and technical reviews to ensure compliance with company standards and certification requirements
Coordinate technical communication between internal stakeholders and external development organizations
Assess supplier technical risks and implement mitigation strategies
Hardware Design & Development
Direct the design and development of complex digital, analog, mixed-signal, RF, and power electronics hardware
Review schematics, RF signal chain implementation, PCB layouts, component selections, engineering analyses, and test results
Ensure designs meet performance, reliability, manufacturability, maintainability, and certification objectives
Support RF/hardware, hardware/software, FPGA, and system-level integration activities
Drive design margins that support DO-160 environmental qualification and EMI/EMC robustness requirements
Product Optimization
Lead initiatives to reduce Size, Weight, Power, and Cost (SWaP-C) across avionics product portfolios
Drive design trade studies that balance performance, manufacturability, certification, and lifecycle objectives
Promote Design for Manufacturability, Design for Cost, Design for Test, and Design for Reliability principles
Establish engineering metrics and practices supporting next-generation avionics solutions
Artificial Intelligence & Engineering Automation
Champion the adoption of AI technologies to improve engineering productivity, quality, and development efficiency
Maintain a continuous improvement mindset and evaluate opportunities to streamline engineering workflows
Evaluate emerging AI technologies and integrate effective practices into engineering processes to reduce repetitive and low-value work
Verification & Validation
Lead hardware verification and validation activities throughout the product lifecycle, primarily through oversight of outsourced development partners
Review and approve test plans, procedures, reports, and qualification data
Support root cause analysis, troubleshooting, and corrective action investigations
Ensure complete verification coverage and certification evidence generation
Required Qualifications
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related engineering discipline
10+ years of experience in aerospace, avionics, or safety-critical electronic product development
5+ years of technical leadership experience leading complex avionics RF and electrical hardware development programs
Experience managing and overseeing external engineering design partners or contract development organizations
Strong understanding of RTCA DO-160 environmental qualification requirements and RF/EE integration challenges in airborne systems
Experience developing and managing hardware requirements documentation and requirements traceability
Expertise in digital, analog, mixed-signal, RF, and power electronics design
Experience supporting certification and regulatory compliance activities
Preferred Additional Skills
Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related discipline
Experience with FAA, EASA, TSO, ETSO, and military avionics programs
Familiarity with DO-254, DO-178C, ARP4754A, and ARP4761 development processes
Deep experience with RF systems and surveillance technologies including Mode S Transponders, ADS-B, IFF, DME, TCAS, or ACAS
Experience implementing AI-assisted engineering workflows and automation solutions
Experience with DOORS requirements management
Experience with Altium design tools
Project leadership or engineering management experience
Key Competencies
Technical leadership
RF and electrical systems thinking
Requirements engineering
Supplier management
Product ownership
Strategic planning
Risk management
Cross-functional collaboration
AI-enabled engineering innovation
Continuous improvement mindset
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Ability to influence technical direction across organizations
Equal Opportunity Statement
Acron Aviation is proud to be an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to treating all employees and applicants with respect and dignity and to maintaining a workplace free from unlawful discrimination. All applicants will be considered for employment regardless of race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or other related medical conditions), gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other legally protected characteristic.
Additional Information
Acron Aviation maintains a drug-free workplace and conducts pre-employment substance abuse testing and background checks, where allowed by law. Acron Aviation is an E-Verify employer.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
Show more Show less