Job Title: Principal Systems Engineer Location: Irving, Texas Duration: Direct Hire
Salary: $140-$150K
Role Overview
We are partnering with a leading aerospace and avionics company to identify a highly experienced Principal Systems Engineer to drive complex system architecture and integration efforts.
This is a senior-level technical leadership role where youll guide engineering teams, define system requirements, and ensure alignment between customer needs and product strategy. Youll play a key role across the full development lifecyclefrom concept through verification, testing, and certificationin a highly regulated environment.
Key Responsibilities
Lead system architecture for new avionics products and R&D initiatives
Provide technical leadership on proposals, including cost and effort estimation
Define, manage, and maintain clear, testable, and traceable system requirements
Ensure requirements traceability throughout the development lifecycle
Drive verification, validation, and regression testing strategies
Develop and review qualification test documentation (DO-160, MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-810, RTCA, EUROCAE)
Support environmental and performance testing, including lab setup
Conduct trade studies and support selection of avionics components and systems
Develop hardware requirements and interface control documents (ICDs)
Partner closely with project management across hardware and software development
Lead peer and milestone reviews (PDR, CDR, SDR)
Develop system safety documentation aligned with ARP4754A and ARP4761
Support customer-facing technical discussions and proposal efforts
Identify risks and implement mitigation strategies (technical and schedule)
Develop ground test plans and support aircraft integration
Troubleshoot installation issues and support flight testing activities
Analyze test data and communicate findings clearly
Required Qualifications
Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering or related field
12+ years of systems engineering experience in aerospace, avionics, or embedded systems
Strong background in electronics development (hardware and/or software)
Experience with analog, digital, and mixed-signal design, testing, and debugging
Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics and wiring diagrams
Experience developing test procedures for avionics verification and qualification
Familiarity with lab equipment (oscilloscope, DMM, logic analyzer, spectrum analyzer)
Knowledge of aircraft systems and installation processes
Experience with tools such as Python, MATLAB, Simulink, SPICE (or similar)
Understanding of DO-178C and DO-254 processes for safety-critical systems
Strong communication skills with the ability to mentor junior engineers