Principal Hardware-in-the-Loop Engineer
$170,000–$240,000 year
On-site · El Segundo, California, United States
Job Summary
Principal Hardware-in-the-Loop Engineer to lead architecture, design, and deployment of high-fidelity HIL validation environments for full effector system integration (flight controllers, ESCs, sensors, and GCS) across programs. Drive HIL strategy, model integration, and automated test development with CI/CD, guide cross-functional teams, and ensure transition toward flight test. Responsibilities include building reusable HIL system design approaches, integrating flight dynamics and sensor models, coordinating hardware integration, enabling automated testing, conducting root-cause analysis, and collaborating with GNC, software, and systems engineering to define verification plans and acceptance criteria. On-site in El Segundo, CA; U.S. security clearance eligibility required.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
- 10+ years of experience in hardware-in-the-loop testing, embedded systems integration, or closely related discipline
- Hands-on experience building and operating HIL or SIL simulation environments for embedded or autonomous systems
- Proficiency in real-time simulation platforms (e.g., dSPACE, NI VeriStand, or similar)
- Strong programming skills in Python and/or C/C++ for test automation and system scripting
- Familiarity with flight controller software such as PX4, ArduPilot, or equivalent
- Experience with communication protocols common in drone systems (MAVLink, CAN, UART, SPI, I2C)
- Solid understanding of effector system architecture, including propulsion, navigation, and control loops
- Experience with version control systems and CI/CD pipelines for automated testing
- Strong analytical, debugging and root cause analysis skills across hardware, software, and simulation domains
- Demonstrated ability to lead technical efforts and guide engineers through complex integration and troubleshooting challenges
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance
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