AD&D Engineer Principal - A&E Systems

Job Summary

The AD&D Principal Engineer - Avionics and Electrical - is a visionary and hands-on engineering leader responsible for driving the early-stage development of new and innovative aircraft, systems, or feature development projects within the Cirrus Advanced Design and Development (AD&D) department. This position will focus on the initial phases of aircraft development - ideation, hypothesis generation, stakeholder engagement, technology maturation, and conceptual design.

 Duties and Responsibilities/Essential Functions 

• Take full ownership of leading the development of Avionics and Electrical Systems from ideation through conceptual design and into practical product paths.
• Generate and test hypotheses through hands-on prototyping, simulation, and evaluation, with minimal supervision.
• Create and manage development plans focused on early-stage exploration, requirements capture, and concept validation.
• Engineer and refine requirements and objectives through stakeholder engagement and iterative experimentation.
• Translate verbal direction and vision into actionable design objectives and development strategies.
• Collaborate directly with pilots, mechanics, and experimental technicians, as well as external stakeholders such as Product Development, Certification, and Production teams.
• Foster a culture of rapid prototyping, testing, and iteration, learning from both success and failure.
• Communicate complex ideas effectively and efficiently to diverse audiences.
• Travel up to 25% may be required.

 Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential function satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering (or related STEM discipline).
• 10+ years of experience in aviation, aerospace, or advanced product development.
• Broad technical skillset related to aircraft, with strong understanding of avionics and electrical systems.
• Previous early product development experience – from a clean sheet to working prototypes.
• Proven track record of producing results when developing new designs or products.
• Willingness to take smart risks, accept accountability, and fix mistakes.
• Demonstrated ability to lead small technical teams and manage early development projects.
• Intrinsic motivation to drive progress - to explore, challenge, and innovate – and to minimize administrative overhead.
• Experienced in iterative development cycles, with a strong ability to identify non-viable solutions early and reorient technical strategy quickly.
• Strong hands-on skills in prototyping, simulation, and testing.
• Comfortable operating under tight deadlines with minimal direction and in a shop or lab environment.
• Proficient in creating engineering design definition - 3D models, 2D drawings, sketches, schematics, BOMs.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Familiarity with system development standards (e.g., ARP4754A, ARP4761).

Preferred Qualifications: Master's degree in related discipline. Previous experience in aircraft program development; leading integrated product teams, or similar technical teams; private pilots certificate or personal aviation experience; familiarity with PTC products (e.g. CREO, Windchill), Mathworks products (e.g. Matlab, Simulink), Atlassian products (e.g. Jira, Confluence); proficient in at least one coding language; Experience with FAA certification processes and standards (e.g. Part 23, Part 27, Advisory Circulars, Industry Consensus Standards).

Competencies

To perform the job successfully, an individual should demonstrate the following competencies: 

• Strategic Thinking & Decision Making
• Cross-functional Leadership
• Risk & Opportunity Management
• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
• Conflict Managemen