Senior PCB Design Engineer

About Powerus

Powerus is building a next-generation American autonomous systems platform designed to move, protect, and sustain critical assets in high-consequence environments. The company combines advanced autonomy, manufacturing capability, operational expertise, and strategic acquisitions to support defense, national security, critical infrastructure, and commercial operations globally.

Mission

Our mission is to deliver resilient autonomous technologies that strengthen national security, improve operational safety, and expand the capabilities of organizations operating in complex environments.

Why Join Powerus

Powerus is scaling production of autonomous aerial systems across defense, national security, and commercial programs. The number of unique board designs in active production and development is growing with each platform variant and payload integration.

This role owns printed circuit board design from schematic capture through production release. The position sits within the engineering organization and works directly with hardware, firmware, and manufacturing engineering.

Position Overview

Powerus is seeking a Senior PCB Design Engineer to lead the design, layout, and production release of printed circuit boards for autonomous aerial systems. The role involves end-to-end board development from schematic capture through manufacturing handoff, including stackup definition, impedance-controlled routing, power integrity analysis, and DFM review. Reports to the Head of Engineering.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead PCB design from concept through production release for power, digital, and mixed-signal boards

• Define board stackups, impedance profiles, and layer assignments based on signal integrity and EMC requirements

• Perform and review signal integrity analysis including impedance matching, crosstalk, and return path continuity

• Perform power integrity analysis including decoupling strategy, PDN impedance, and voltage drop

• Generate and review fabrication and assembly packages including Gerber files, drill files, and assembly drawings

• Coordinate with firmware, mechanical, and manufacturing engineering on board constraints and interfaces

• Conduct DFM and DFT reviews with contract manufacturers and resolve producibility issues

• Support board bring-up, debug, and failure analysis activities

• Maintain design standards, component libraries, and EDA tool configurations

• Review designs produced by junior engineers and provide technical feedback

Qualifications

• Must be located in the United States, within commuting distance of Charlotte, NC

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, electronics engineering, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience

• 4+ years of experience designing printed circuit boards through production release

• Proficiency in Altium Designer, Cadence Allegro, or equivalent EDA toolchain

• Experience with impedance-controlled routing, controlled-impedance stackup design, and signal integrity fundamentals

• Experience with power integrity analysis including PDN design and decoupling strategy

• Experience generating fabrication and assembly packages for contract manufacturers

• Demonstrated ability to design mixed-signal, power, and high-speed digital boards

• Familiarity with IPC standards (IPC-2221, IPC-2222, IPC-6012, IPC-A-610)

• U.S. Person status required (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)); this role involves access to ITAR- and EAR-controlled technical data

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing boards for aerospace, defense, or ITAR-controlled programs

• Experience with rigid-flex or HDI board technologies

• Experience with EMC design techniques and pre-compliance testing

• Familiarity with thermal analysis and thermal management at the board level

• Experience with Altium Designer specifically

• IPC CID or CID+ certification

• Active or prior U.S. security clearance

What We Look For

The right candidate has taken boards from blank schematic to production release multiple times and knows where the problems appear — stackup errors that surface at test, DFM issues that delay assembly, signal integrity problems that require board respins. Practical experience resolving those issues matters more than tool certifications.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Powerus is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and mission-driven workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.