Principal Avionics Engineer
Full‑time | Permanent | Marlborough (On‑site)
Shape the Future of Advanced Flight Systems
We’re looking for an exceptional Principal Avionics Engineer to take a leading role in a bold design, development and prototyping programme operating at the cutting edge of aerospace and autonomous systems.
This is a high‑impact position for someone who thrives in fast‑paced, technically demanding environments and wants to see their work move rapidly from concept to reality. You’ll lead avionics and electrical engineering delivery across multiple programmes, guiding teams through aggressive development cycles and into production readiness.
You’ll combine deep technical expertise with confident leadership, owning the avionics vision and ensuring flawless execution.
Principal Avionics Engineer
What You’ll Be Known For
* Relentless delivery mindset – You don’t just design; you deliver. Quality, pace and results matter.
* Building elite teams – You create high‑performance engineering environments where collaboration and accountability drive results.
* Innovation through challenge – You question assumptions, embrace intelligent risk and use rapid experimentation to accelerate progress.
* Speed and agility – You adapt fast, make informed decisions quickly, and keep programmes moving forward.
Principal Avionics Engineer
Your Role
You’ll have end‑to‑end responsibility for avionics delivery, including:
* Leading the full avionics engineering lifecycle, from concept through TRL progression to production handover (TRL 6/7)
* Managing and directing multiple concurrent design and prototyping teams
* Owning the avionics brief for internal teams and external design consultants
* Driving safe, cost‑effective design solutions aligned to regulatory and engineering standards
* Taking technical ownership of all avionics and electrical design changes
* Embedding continuous improvement in delivery and design management processes
* Managing risk, quality, safety, budgets and schedules
* Ensuring regulatory compliance, configuration control and robust documentation
* Delivering clear status reporting to senior stakeholders
Principal Avionics Engineer
Experience & Skills
* Proven experience leading complex, multi‑disciplinary engineering programmes
* Strong alignment with fail‑fast, build‑test‑learn development methodologies
* Autopilot systems, flight dynamics and PID tuning
* Embedded C/C++, RTOS and ARM architectures
* Analogue & digital electronics, signal conditioning and filter design
* Strong knowledge of modern interfaces and protocols
* (SPI, I²C, UART, CAN, RS232/485, TCP/IP, HDMI, DroneCAN)
* Ability to read schematics, evaluate new hardware and resolve design issues independently
* Strong project management capability
* Right to work in the UK and ability to obtain UK security clearance
Principal Avionics Engineer
Why Join?
You’ll be working on ambitious, technically demanding programmes with real‑world impact, alongside motivated engineers who value speed, ownership and excellence. If you want autonomy, responsibility and the opportunity to push avionics systems to their limits, this role delivers.
Thank you for your application. Due to the volume of applications, we receive, unfortunately we are not able to respond to every application personally, therefore, if you have not heard back from us within 5 working days, please assume your application has been unsuccessful. To see our other available vacancies please visit our website.