Principal Electrical Engineer

About OKSI

For over 30 years, OKSI has built electro-optical and infrared sensing systems for GPS-denied navigation, target detection, terminal guidance, and multispectral imaging across air, ground, and space platforms — pairing custom EO/IR hardware with AI/ML autonomy software.

We're a privately held small business in Torrance. Short decision chains, engineers who talk directly to customers, and your fingerprints on everything that ships.

The Role

OKSI is developing seekers, one-way attack air vehicles, control actuation systems, and EO/IR sensor payloads on accelerated development timelines. We're seeking an electrical engineer capable of carrying a design from initial concept through flight-ready hardware with minimal process overhead. This is a hands-on ownership role, not an architecture-only position — you will own designs from concept through environmental qualification and flight test.

What You'll Do

Circuit & Board Design

• Own mixed-signal PCB designs end to end — architecture, schematic, layout direction, fab/assembly release, bring-up, and debug
• Design detector proximity electronics for EO/IR focal plane arrays (ROIC interfaces, bias, low-noise analog front ends, TEC/thermal control)
• Develop high-speed digital interfaces (LVDS, SerDes, DDR, MIPI, CoaXPress) and SWaP-constrained power architectures (DC-DC, battery/power management, sequencing, transient protection)
• Develop motor drive and servo electronics for control actuation (BLDC/brushed drives, current/position loops, resolver/encoder feedback)

Interconnect & Harnessing

• Design and document wire harnesses and interconnect for airborne/missile environments, including connector selection (MIL-DTL-38999, micro-D, nano-D)
• Own EMI/EMC-conscious shielding, grounding, and bonding strategy across the vehicle

Environmental Qualification

• Design for and qualify against MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, and MIL-STD-704/DO-160
• Harden assemblies for high-G/vibration/thermal extremes (staking, potting, conformal coating, derating); run worst-case analysis, thermal analysis, and FMEA
• Plan and execute HALT/HASS and qualification test campaigns

Integration & Test

• Bring up first articles, isolate hardware/firmware/software failures, and drive root cause to closure
• Support systems integration and flight test, including travel to test ranges
• Work with fab houses and vendors on DFM/DFT, yield, and obsolescence

Technical Leadership

• Serve as senior electrical authority across concurrent rapid-development programs
• Flow requirements to electrical specs and defend them to customers
• Mentor engineers and raise the design/documentation standard across the team

Required Qualifications

• BSEE or equivalent, plus 10–20 years designing electronics for aerospace or defense systems
• Demonstrated hands-on ownership of production hardware — boards you designed that were built, qualified, and fielded
• Deep proficiency in a professional EDA tool suite (Altium, Cadence, or Mentor) for schematic and layout
• Practical command of MIL-STD-810 and MIL-STD-461, with a track record of getting hardware through qualification
• Working knowledge of IPC design and workmanship standards (IPC-2221/2222, IPC-A-610, IPC/WHMA-A-620)
• Fluency at the bench: oscilloscopes, spectrum and network analyzers, thermal cameras, power analyzers

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience on missile seekers, terminal guidance hardware, or precision-guided munitions
• Autonomous UAV, loitering munition, or OWA air vehicle development
• Control actuation system or electromechanical actuator electronics
• EO/IR sensor payload electronics, gimbal control, or IMU/inertial sensor integration
• Rapid prototyping under SBIR, OTA, or other fast-turn contract vehicles
• MSEE, or demonstrated depth that makes the question irrelevant

Compensation and Benefits

• Salary range: $150,000 – $250,000 annually. Placement within the range reflects experience, depth in seeker and UAV electronics, clearance status, and demonstrated hands-on delivery. Exceptional candidates will not be capped by a posted number — tell us what you have built.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage fully paid by the employer for employees
• Three weeks of vacation to start
• Automatic company contribution to 401K – 5% of earned wages (no matching required)
• Educational assistance and professional development opportunities
• In-office (Torrance, CA) or hybrid work available (position dependent)

Additional Requirements:

• You must have, or be eligible to obtain, a U.S. Department of Defense Secret security clearance. You will be subject to government security investigations and must be able to access classified information. The inability to obtain a security clearance will result in you being ineligible for the position.

We are an equal employment opportunity and affirmative action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other status protected by law. We provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities in the application and hiring process. The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R.

This employer participates in E-Verify.