Staff Electrical Engineer - Actuators

Company: Archer
Location: San Jose
Posted on: April 1, 2026

Job Description:

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. Archer is seeking a Staff Electrical Engineer- Actuators to lead the architecture, design, development and validation of electronics and electromechanical actuators used in flight-critical systems such as propulsion tilt, pitch control surfaces and landing gear. What you’ll do: Design and develop fault tolerant and high power density actuator controller including motor drivers, sensors, power stages, and embedded control interfaces Be responsible for all aspects of power electronics designs from components, circuits, modules and system integration Passive component design and optimization in power electronics systems EMC and Lightning design, analysis, and testing for low voltage and high voltage electronic systems Lead new designs from conception into production while working with a multidisciplinary team Start to finish ownership of hardware – from specification to design, prototype, reliability validation and manufacturing Requirements capture, topology trade-study and performance modeling Schematic, layout and PCB assembly design and review Design and carry out prototype verification tests for proof of concept Analyze test data and reports to verify functional and performance specifications. Troubleshoot and execute root cause analysis on prototype and production designs. What you need: Electrical Engineering Degree or equivalent experience. 8 years of relevant electrical system and circuit board design experience. Sound knowledge and hands-on experience in traditional and modern power electronic technologies including (not limited to): Inverter technology for variable speed motor drive (MOSFET, rectifiers and gate driver PWM technologies). Passive power devices, e.g. inductors, capacitors, resistors and transformers. Power electronics system architecture design and hardware integration. Motor drive and power converters (AC-DC, DC-DC, DC-AC) control technologies. Motor control and commutation methods for various types of three phase motors. Microcontrollers and processors Sensor technology and implementation Gate drive design for wide bandgap devices (SiC and GaN) Experience with 1-10kW inverters at 400V-1000V Experience in using schematic capture and circuit simulation software (e.g. Altium Designer or Xpedition). PCB layout experience Experience performing circuit design analyses such as worst-case circuit analysis, fault analysis, and reliability analysis Experience in design for test and design for high volume manufacturing Mastery of all types of lab instruments: oscilloscope, EMC analyzers etc. Excellent organizational and communication skills Bonus Qualifications: Hands on experience with DO-160G testing and DO-254 development Masters or Ph. D. in electrical engineering Embedded firmware development experience 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 $160,000 - $217,000. Actual compensation offered will be determined by factors such as job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Archer is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to job applicants with physical or mental disabilities, and those with sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants who may require reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process should provide their name and contact information to Archer’s People Team at people@archer.com . Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Information collected and processed as part of any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Archer's Candidate Privacy Policy . Archer is unable to provide work visa sponsorship for this position at the present time. Archer is proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. All aspects of employment are decided on the basis of merit, qualifications, and business needs. We do not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, gender identity or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Archer Aviation does not engage with external recruiting agencies/individual recruiters with whom it does not have a prior written agreement. Archer reserves the right to make use of any unsolicited resumes that it receives and bears no responsibility for payment of any fees asserted from the use of unsolicited resumes. If you are a recruiting agency or individual recruiter wishing to do business with Archer, please reach out to People@archer.com . All employment processes are managed by the Archer People Team.

Keywords: Archer, Petaluma , Staff Electrical Engineer - Actuators, Engineering , San Jose, California