Principal Electronics Engineer Jobs
Principal Electronics Engineer jobs are open across defense, aerospace, semiconductor, medical devices, and industrial automation, at every level from senior engineer to distinguished principal, with specializations in analog circuit design, embedded systems, and RF engineering. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
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Description
At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is looking to add a Principal/ Sr Principal Electronics Engineer - SW Infrastructure Lead - to join the team of qualified individuals on our Avionics Team. This role is located onsite in San Diego (Rancho Bernardo), CA.
The selected candidate will be required to work full-time, on-site at our facility. There is NO remote / hybrid / telework available for this position. Travel up to 25% may be required.
The successful candidate will be a results-oriented technical project lead and infrastructure manager covering projects across network architecture, infrastructure, and data storage, providing guidance and leadership to enable the buildup of a scalable infrastructure to support robust communication across assets, centralized capabilities, and data dissemination. This person needs to bring a collaborative leadership style, and the ability to drive technical maturation/evolution across a portfolio of programs, contracts, and Operating Units that will often have varied and/or conflicting needs. The successful leader acts as the Subject Matter Expert for network architecture and the buildup of our infrastructure and capabilities.
The SW Infrastructures Lead will rely on a significant breadth and depth of technical and leadership experience may include:
- Attend SRB to represent infra where DRs impact infrastructure
- Run separate infrastructure board similar to SRB (role would need to establish that process)
- Define when build is ready
- Ensure documentation is released
- Ensure build is tested
- Initially establish process for releasing infra builds
- Update BOMs (Bill of Materials)
- Ensure all Software is available on system (GIN)
- Build hard drive\media
- Complete paperwork to push build to various classified networks
- Work with cyber on SW scan approvals
- Ensure software support Bill of Materials released
- Ensure cyber test is run on quarterly release to ensure improved cyber posture
- Run Readiness Reviews (role would need to establish that process)
- Technical leadership over the buildup of our network infrastructure and directly leads to the technical execution of network/infrastructure development and implementation.
- Ownership over the development of all network documentation, including high-level and detailed design, topology depictions, port and protocol documentation, security boundaries/classifications, IP and tunneling, etc.
- Leads the development, decomposition and documentation of system-segment-software/hardware requirements
- Ensures the right solutions are being developed, via collaboration with internal stakeholders and end-user/customer counterparts.
- Serves as a PoC for network/infrastructure reach-back.
- Provides technical leadership over suppliers/subcontractors, as needed.
- Supports risk mitigation and opportunity generation.
Basic Qualifications
- Principal: Bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university and 5 years of related professional/military experience in Engineering, or Master's degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university and 3 years of related professional/military experience.
- Sr. Principal: Bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university and 8 years of related professional/military experience in Engineering, or Master's degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university and 6 years of related professional/military experience
- Experience being a technical project lead and/or Product Owner accountable to the outcome of the solutions developed
- Understanding of network architecture and topologies, protocols, IP and tunneling, and security boundaries.
- Experience in documentation, including MBSE, change packages, design depictions and requirements
- Ability to stay abreast of developments at the intersection of data science and technology
- Experience engaging cross-functional teams
- Must have an active US Government Top-Secret Clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
- Ability to obtain and maintain US Government SCI clearance
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's Degree, or other relevant, advanced, technical degree
- Cloud-based architecture, and virtual network expertise
- Skilled at defining, motivating and driving change across multiple contracts/business areas with a dual focus on supporting the end-user mission and ensuring business value
- Advanced technical knowledge of network architecture and design concepts
- Self-directed leader
- Excellent communication and presentation development skills
Principal Electronics Engineer Jobs by Experience Level
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Find JobsPrincipal Electronics Engineer Job Market
Who's Hiring
- Northrop Grumman35

- BAE Systems USA3

- Raytheon2

- ChargePoint2

- Schneider Electric2

Top Industries Hiring
- Electronics & Hardware
- Education
- Consulting & Professional Services
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in principal electronics engineer jobs.
- Bachelor's or master's degree in electrical engineering or closely related field
- 8 or more years of hands-on electronics design and development experience
- Proficiency in schematic capture and PCB layout tools such as Altium or Cadence
- Experience with analog, mixed-signal, or RF circuit design through production release
- Familiarity with embedded systems, FPGA development, or hardware-software integration
- Strong documentation and design-review skills aligned with industry or regulatory standards
Tips for Your Principal Electronics Engineer Job Search
Tailor your resume to design ownership
Principal-level listings screen for end-to-end design ownership, not just contribution. Call out specific circuits, subsystems, or architectures you led from concept through production, including the constraints you resolved, not just the deliverables you shipped.
Highlight cross-functional technical leadership
Hiring teams at this level expect evidence that you've guided junior engineers and shaped design decisions across teams. Name the number of engineers you've mentored and the technical decisions you've owned, without underselling the leadership component.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists principal electronics engineer openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Filter openings by domain and stack
Principal roles in medical devices have very different compliance and documentation requirements than those in consumer electronics or defense. Search for openings that match your specific domain so your experience maps directly to what the team needs.
Prepare a design portfolio with schematics
Many principal-level interviews include a technical deep-dive where you walk through a past design. Prepare two or three projects you can discuss at the architecture, component selection, and failure-mode level, with simplified schematics if the work isn't under NDA.
Negotiate scope alongside compensation
At principal level, the size of the design mandate varies enormously between companies. During offer discussions, clarify whether you'll own full subsystem architecture or contribute within a constrained scope, since that directly affects your growth and visibility.
Principal Electronics Engineer Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most principal electronics engineers?
The companies hiring the most principal electronics engineers right now include Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems USA, and Raytheon, with the largest share of openings in California, Florida, and Maryland, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Defense contractors, semiconductor firms, and medical device companies consistently account for the largest share of principal-level openings.
How many principal electronics engineer jobs are remote?
About 38% of principal electronics engineer openings are fully remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting the hands-on nature of hardware development. Sub-areas such as firmware architecture, FPGA design, and systems verification tend to have higher remote availability than roles requiring lab access or prototype assembly.
How do you become a principal electronics engineer?
Most engineers reach the principal level by accumulating deep domain expertise across multiple product generations, not just years of service. The path typically involves leading increasingly complex design projects, taking ownership of architecture decisions, mentoring junior engineers, and building a record of designs that shipped to production. Moving between industries or hardware domains can accelerate progression by broadening your technical foundation.
Can you get hired as a principal electronics engineer without direct principal-level experience?
Yes, candidates who have functioned at the principal level without the formal title are routinely considered. The key is demonstrating ownership: if you led a full subsystem design, drove architecture decisions, or served as the technical authority on a program, describe that scope explicitly on your resume and in interviews, even if your title was senior engineer.
What does the principal electronics engineer interview process look like?
Most processes include an initial screening call, a technical phone or video interview focused on circuit theory and past design decisions, and an onsite or virtual loop with design exercises, a portfolio walk-through, and a conversation with cross-functional stakeholders. Some companies add a written design challenge or a hardware bench session to assess hands-on problem-solving at the architecture level.
Where can I find and apply to principal electronics engineer jobs?
You can find and apply to principal electronics engineer jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from across the United States. Search the roles available, find the ones that match your background and target domain, and apply directly to each listing that fits.
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