Director of Electrical Engineering (Irvine)
Aerospace is at a turning point — costs are rising, supply chains are strained, and old ways of building can’t keep up. At Neon Aero, we’re breaking that mold. We move fast, think big, and combine start-up agility with aerospace expertise to design, build, and scale aircraft in ways the industry has never seen. Our team leverages automation, AI-driven tools, and a fully connected digital backbone to accelerate innovation and reduce barriers to production. Here, you won’t just take a job — you’ll help reinvent how the world flies. If you’re ready to solve complex problems, push technology further, and work alongside some of the brightest minds in aerospace, this is your chance to make a real impact. Neon is seeking a Director of Electrical Engineering to lead the development and delivery of complex electrical and electronic systems across our growing portfolio of electromechanical products. This is a product engineering leadership role for an electrical engineer who has shipped complex hardware and understands what it takes to move from architecture and prototype development through validation, industrialization, production ramp, and field deployment. You will build and lead the Electrical Engineering organization, partner closely with the VP of Engineering and other Engineering Directors, and remain technically engaged enough to challenge architectures, review designs, diagnose difficult system problems, and make sound engineering decisions. Aerospace experience is not required. We value leaders who have successfully developed products in environments such as consumer electronics, automotive, robotics, medical devices, industrial systems, energy, aerospace, or other high-performance hardware industries. Breadth of experience and a demonstrated ability to ship production hardware matter more than experience in any one industry. Why This Role Matters Lead the Electrical Engineering organization across architecture, development, validation, industrialization, production release, and sustaining support. Build and develop a team of strong engineers across electronics, power systems, embedded hardware, and related electrical disciplines. Shape architectures spanning power electronics, embedded digital hardware, analog and mixed-signal electronics, motor drives, sensing, energy systems, communications, power distribution, and electromechanical integration. Influence product decisions across electrical, mechanical, embedded software, controls, thermal, manufacturing, reliability, cost, and supply-chain boundaries. Establish the engineering practices required to move from working prototypes to hardware that can be manufactured, tested, shipped, and supported repeatedly. Work directly with suppliers, contract manufacturers, and manufacturing teams through prototype builds, NPI, production ramp, yield improvement, and cost reduction. Remain technically engaged in architecture reviews, design reviews, debugging, failure investigations, and major engineering decisions. Help define longer-term electrical technology and architecture strategies while maintaining a strong focus on executable product development. Operate in a fast-paced, product-driven environment where priorities may shift around major development, validation, manufacturing, and production milestones. Work across office, laboratory, prototype, test, and manufacturing environments as required by the program. What You’ll Bring Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a closely related technical field; equivalent professional experience may be considered in lieu of a degree. 12 years of progressive experience developing complex electrical or electronic products. 5 years of experience leading or managing Electrical Engineering, Hardware Engineering, or multidisciplinary hardware teams. Demonstrated experience taking multiple complex hardware products or major subsystems from concept through production and shipment. Broad technical understanding across multiple electrical engineering domains rather than experience limited to a single specialty. Strong electrical system architecture and product-development judgment. Experience with combinations of embedded processors or microcontrollers, analog and mixed-signal circuitry, power electronics, motor drives, sensors, communications, power distribution, and battery or energy systems. Strong understanding of schematic design, PCB development, component selection, board bring-up, debugging, verification, and production release. Experience integrating electrical hardware into complex electromechanical products. Strong understanding of DFM, DFT, manufacturing test, production yield, component sourcing, supplier quality, and electronics manufacturing. Direct experience working with suppliers and contract manufacturers to solve development and production problems. Strong understanding of hardware verification, reliability, failure analysis, root-cause investigation, and data-driven engineering decision-making. Demonstrated ability to hire, mentor, organize, and lead senior technical engineers. Ability to work across engineering disciplines and make sound decisions when requirements, constraints, or data are incomplete. Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex engineering issues, risks, and tradeoffs to technical teams and company leadership. A product mindset that considers mechanical packaging, software behavior, controls, thermal performance, manufacturing, reliability, cost, and customer needs when making electrical engineering decisions. First-principles engineering judgment and the ability to lead specialists without needing to be the deepest expert in every electrical discipline. A demonstrated focus on shipping production hardware with the quality, reliability, manufacturability, and cost discipline required for repeatable production. Ability to work for extended periods at a computer, participate in technical meetings and design reviews, and move periodically between office, laboratory, prototype, test, and manufacturing environments. Preferred Experience developing products across multiple industries or product categories, including consumer electronics, automotive, robotics, industrial equipment, medical devices, energy systems, or aerospace. Experience with high-power electrical systems, including power conversion, inverters, motor drives, battery systems, or high-voltage power distribution. Experience developing power supplies, power-conversion systems, or power-distribution architectures operating in the approximately 400 to 1200 V range. Experience with PMSM or BLDC motor drives, inverter architectures, current sensing, gate drives, and motor-control hardware. Experience with battery systems, BMS hardware, contactors, pre-charge systems, high-voltage distribution, and energy-management architectures. Experience with communication interfaces such as CAN, Ethernet, RS-485, SPI, I2C, or comparable embedded interfaces. Experience designing products for high-volume or highly automated manufacturing environments. Experience with regulatory, safety-critical, or high-reliability product development. Aerospace development or certification experience, including DO-160, DO-254, ARP4754/4761, or related frameworks. Aerospace experience is useful but not required. Why Join Us Work alongside elite engineering talent and innovators from across aerospace and tech. Be part of a team moving faster than the industry standard. Shape solutions that are lower-cost, autonomous, and scalable: the future of aviation. Competitive compensation, including equity participation, growth opportunities, and full health benefits (health, vision, dental, 401(k)) designed to support you in and out of work. This is the expected compensation range for this role. Final compensation will be based on role scope, experience, skills, internal equity and location. This role may also be eligible for bonus/equity/benefits, if applicable. $210,000 - $325,000 USD Neon Aero, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable law. We believe that diverse perspectives drive innovation, and we welcome candidates from all backgrounds to apply. All final candidates must successfully complete a background check and drug screening as a condition of employment. At this time, Neon Aero and its divisions are not accepting unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters or staffing agencies. J-18808-Ljbffr
