Airborne Electronic Hardware (AEH) Systems Engineer

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.

Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members.

The hardware team is looking for an Airborne Electronic Hardware (AEH) Systems Engineer to help establish the engineering processes and certification framework for our electronics hardware - spanning both inverter and battery management system (BMS) development. You’ll be embedded within the design team, working day-to-day with circuit designers to define requirements, build structured development workflows, review technical analyses, and ensure our hardware is developed to meet airborne certification standards. This is a foundational role: you’ll help set the vision for how we develop certifiable hardware at scale, and build the templates, plans, and practices the team will rely on.

What you’ll do:

• Partner with Inverter and BMS hardware designers to define, manage, and trace requirements using tools like Polarion or DOORS
• Establish and maintain standardized design templates, review checklists (schematics, layouts, BOMs), and documentation practices across both hardware domains
• Review critical design analyses including DFMEAs, WCCA, margin/derating, thermal assessments, and protection function analyses relevant to both motor drive and battery management hardware
• Develop hardware development plans, verification strategies, and AEH certification artifacts in line with DO-254 and applicable airworthiness requirements
• Lead design reviews and ensure requirements are correctly implemented, traceable, and justified for certification
• Support definition of safety requirements flowing down from system-level analyses (ARP4754A, ARP4761) into inverter and BMS hardware
• Help build a scalable certification process that can grow with the team and apply consistently across power electronics hardware programs

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field, or equivalent experience
• 5+ years of hardware systems or design engineering experience in regulated industries, with a focus on power electronics or safety-critical hardware
• Hands-on technical background in inverters, power converters, motor drives, or battery management systems
• Experience with structured hardware development processes such as DO-254
• Familiarity with circuit-level analyses - WCCA, derating, stress analysis, protection coordination
• Experience with requirements management tools (Polarion, DOORS, or similar)
• Strong technical communication and documentation skills
• Comfortable working as a peer within a design team rather than as an external reviewer

Bonus Qualifications:

• Direct DO-254 and DO-160G experience
• Knowledge of SAE ARP4754A and ARP4761 (FMEA, FTA)
• Experience with high-power inverter systems and BMS hardware: cell monitoring, balancing, protection circuits, or isolation measurement
• Knowledge of SAE ARP4754A and ARP4761 (FMEA, FTA, safety requirements)
• Passion for aviation and eVTOLs

At Archer we aim to attract, retain, and motivate talent that possess the skills and leadership necessary to grow our business. We drive a pay-for-performance culture and reward performance that supports the Company’s business strategy. For this position we are targeting a base pay between $144,000 - $180,000. Actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.