Principal Electronic System Engineer

Patton LLC seeks a Principal Electronic System Engineer to anchor its electrical systems leadership in Hudson, Massachusetts. This onsite, senior role combines hands-on engineering with strategic direction, guiding the development of secure, mission-critical electronic systems for defense, aerospace, and secure communications. The position blends system-level electrical architecture, information-assurance-driven design, and direct leadership of the Electrical and PCB Design teams.

Responsibilities

• Act as the electrical systems architect for secure communications and mission-critical products, guiding work from requirements definition to production release.
• Define and implement system-level electrical architectures that address EMI/EMC and emissions control.
• Ensure signal integrity, power integrity, and proper grounding across designs.
• Oversee enclosure bonding, shielding, and cable interfaces, including mitigation techniques in TEMPEST‑like contexts.
• Lead efforts to reduce conducted and radiated emissions, applying filtering, shielding, grounding, and isolation strategies.
• Implement RED/BLACK separation concepts and controlled interfaces.
• Apply layout and mechanical integration techniques to limit unintended emanations.
• Interpret customer, program, and regulatory requirements related to secure electronics and translate them into actionable engineering designs.
• Personally contribute to schematic design, key PCB architecture decisions, and prototype bring‑up for complex boards.
• Provide deep technical oversight of mixed‑signal, high‑speed digital, RF‑adjacent, and power electronics.
• Provide deep technical oversight of multi‑layer PCB stackups, controlled impedance, and EMI‑aware layout practices.
• Lead and participate in formal schematic and layout reviews, risk assessments, and design trades.
• Lead, mentor, and technically develop the Electrical and PCB Design Engineering team.
• Establish and enforce engineering standards, design review rigor, and documentation quality suited to defense and aerospace programs.
• Assign work, balance technical loads, and act as escalation authority for complex or high‑risk design challenges.
• Support hiring, onboarding, and career development of engineers working on secure and mission‑critical systems.
• Collaborate with mechanical engineering to ensure enclosure design, shielding effectiveness, grounding schemes, and thermal management meet mission requirements.
• Work with firmware, software, manufacturing, and supply‑chain teams to deliver producible, supportable designs.
• Interface with customers, program managers, test labs, and manufacturing partners to communicate technical decisions and risks effectively.
• Support qualification, compliance, and acceptance testing activities aligned with customer and regulatory expectations.
• Support EMI/EMC, environmental, and safety compliance efforts common to defense and aerospace products.
• Ensure designs support long‑life availability, obsolescence mitigation, and sustainment strategies.
• Provide technical support through production, deployment, and field issue resolution as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent (Master’s preferred).
• 10+ years of professional electrical engineering experience, including system‑level design ownership.
• Proven experience as a technical lead or principal engineer who remains hands‑on.
• Strong expertise in electrical system architecture.
• Schematic capture and PCB design proficiency.
• Experience in EMI/EMC‑constrained design environments.
• Practical experience with TEMPEST, emission‑security driven design, or similar shielding and information‑assurance techniques, or substantial experience designing electronics for tightly controlled EMI/EMSEC environments.
• Track record delivering products for defense, aerospace, secure communications, or similarly regulated markets.

Benefits

• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Pay

Salary: From $100,000.00 per year

Work Location

On-site in Hudson, MA