Electrical Engineer - Unmanned Systems & Ground Penetrating Radar

LLNL$121K — $185K *
Aerospace & Defense
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • U.S. citizenship required for obtaining and maintaining a DOE Q-level security clearance.
  • Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or related field, or equivalent experience.
  • Proficient in PCB design using tools like Altium Designer.
  • Experience in electrical system integration and subsystem interfacing.
  • Skilled in board bring-up and debugging using laboratory equipment such as oscilloscopes.
  • Foundational knowledge in power electronics and high-speed digital design.
  • Experience in troubleshooting electronic systems and working within multidisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

  • Design and test printed circuit boards, including schematic capture and layout.
  • Integrate electrical subsystems for unmanned systems and GPR technologies.
  • Collaborate with teams to ensure coherent integration of electrical, mechanical, and software components.
  • Create and maintain engineering documentation for all electrical designs.
  • Manage vendor relationships for PCB fabrication and assembly.
  • Conduct board bring-up, debugging, and validation testing.
  • Analyze test data to identify issues and refine designs for better system performance.

Benefits

  • Hybrid work schedule with options for remote work.
  • Opportunities for career development and growth within the organization.
Full Job Description
Job Description

We have an opening for an Electrical Engineer to support the design and development of unmanned ground and aerial systems and ground penetrating radar (GPR) technologies. This role focuses on system-level electrical engineering, including printed circuit board (PCB) design, subsystem integration, RF and digital electronics, and support of fielded systems.You will contribute to the development, integration, and testing of advanced sensing and autonomous platforms, with job scope that spans the full engineering lifecycle, including design, fabrication, integration, test, and deployment. The position requires close collaboration with multidisciplinary teams, including mechanical, software, and systems engineers, to ensure robust and reliable system performance. This position is in the National Security Engineering Division (NSED) within the Engineering Directorate.

This position offers a hybrid schedule, blending in-person and virtual presence. You will have the flexibility to work from home one or more days per week.

This position will be filled at eitherlevel based on knowledge and related experience as assessed by the hiring team. Additional job responsibilities (outlined below) will be assigned if hired at the higher level.

In this role you will:
  • Design, develop, and test printed circuit boards (PCBs), including schematic capture and layout using industry-standard tools (e.g., Altium Designer).
  • Architect and integrate electrical subsystems for large ground vehicle platforms, unmanned aerial systems, and GPR systems.
  • Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to ensure effective integration of electrical, mechanical, and software components.
  • Develop and maintain engineering documentation, including schematics, PCB layouts, fabrication and assembly drawings, and technical reports.
  • Manage interactions with PCB fabrication and assembly vendors to support prototyping and production.
  • Perform board bring-up, debugging, rework, and validation testing of electrical systems and components.
  • Analyze test data, troubleshoot system issues, and iterate on designs to improve performance and reliability.
  • Support system integration, field testing, and deployment activities at LLNL and external sites.
  • Apply standard engineering and project management practices to plan and execute assigned work.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Additional job responsibilities at the SES.2 level:
  • Provide solutions to problems of moderate complexity related to GPR system design and integration.
  • Provide technical guidance and mentorship to less-experienced engineers.
  • Contribute to project planning, including development of schedules, tasking, and resource estimates for electrical engineering activities.

Qualifications
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. DOE Q-level security clearance, which requires U.S. citizenship.
  • Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or related field, or equivalent combination of education and related experience.
  • Experience in PCB design, including schematic capture and layout using tools such as Altium Designer.
  • Experience with electrical system integration, including cabling design and subsystem interfacing.
  • Experience with board bring-up, debugging, rework, and test using standard laboratory equipment (e.g., power supplies, multimeters, oscilloscopes).
  • Fundamental knowledge of power electronics, high-speed digital design, or FPGA interfacing.
  • Experience performing failure analysis and troubleshooting of electronic systems.
  • Experience working effectively in multidisciplinary engineering teams.
  • Sufficient verbal and written communication skills necessary to collaborate with team members and present technical information.

Additional qualifications at the SES.2 level:
  • Demonstrated ability to contribute to moderately complex electrical engineering projects with increasing independence.
  • Broad experience managing or coordinating with PCB fabrication and assembly vendors for small volume prototyping and production.
  • Comprehensive experience applying structured engineering or project management practices to plan and execute technical work.

Qualifications We Desire
  • Master's degree in electrical engineering or related field.
  • Experience with unmanned or autonomous systems, including drone electrical integration (e.g., power distribution, flight controllers, batteries, ESCs).
  • Experience with RF systems or ground penetrating radar, including RF PCB design, signal integrity, or test methods (e.g., VNA, time-domain analysis).
  • Experience with FPGA-based digital design or embedded systems (e.g., HDL development, custom data pipelines, embedded Linux).
  • Active DOE or other U.S. government security clearance
  • FAA Part 107 license.

Pay Range

$121,830 - $185,544 Annually

$121,830 - $154,500 Annually for the SES.1 level

$146,340 - $185,544 Annually for the SES.2 level

This is the lowest to highest salary we in good faith believe we would pay for this role at the time of this posting. An employee's position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, specific competencies, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, and business or organizational needs.

Additional Information

#LI-Hybrid

Position Information

This is a Career Indefinite position, open to Lab employees and external candidates.

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