Principal Electrical Engineer
Mercury Systems
Torrance, CA · Posted October 12, 2026
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Where Torrance, CA ranks
Where Torrance, CA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #3Best cities for manufacturing and industrial pay after cost of living$157k · of 35
- #4Best cities for energy and utilities pay after cost of living$160k · of 18
- #5Best all-round cities for new graduates in the West Coast63 / 100 · of 39
- #8Cities with the most jobs that need no experience in the West Coast1.5% · of 66
- #10Cities with the most jobs that do not need a four-year degree in the West Coast65 jobs · of 47
- #10Cities that post pay most often43% · of 100
Rankings about engineering jobs
- Best cities for software and engineering jobs #1 San Francisco (3,412 openings)
- Best cities for engineering pay after cost of living #1 San Mateo ($216k)
- Most requested AI skills in engineering jobs #1 AI tools in daily work (6.1%)
- AI tools named most often in engineering jobs #1 Claude (1.7%)
- Employers with the most engineering jobs #1 Amazon (2,992 roles)
Pay compared with the market
This listing does not state pay. Across 104 open principal electrical engineer listings that state pay, the middle half runs $156,000 to $195,500 and the median is $175,000.
Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
Principal Electrical Engineer salaries by state · Check your own pay
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AI use among electrical engineers is little observed so far. Measured exposure for electrical engineers: 6% (little observed).
Share of this job’s tasks that AI is already used for at work, from real usage. It is not a forecast of job loss, and a low number means no use seen yet. Source: Anthropic Economic Index.
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About the job
Mercury Systems is seeking the best and brightest engineering talent to help us deliver cutting‑edge technology for mission‑critical aerospace and defense applications, advancing innovation where it matters most. In this role, our team is looking for a Principal Electrical Engineer – Hardware Design/Board Designer who will architect ruggedized circuit board solutions and lead end‑to‑end development of advanced embedded computing, high‑speed digital systems, secure processing, and FPGA‑based hardware. You will help drive complex board‑level designs that must operate reliably in extreme environments across air, land, sea, and space, with the opportunity to see your designs directly deployed in real‑world systems. As a technical leader, you will shape engineering standards, guide architectural decisions, and drive innovation through collaborative reviews and proactive verification. Working within Mercury’s Integrator Mindset, you will partner across sites and disciplines to deliver board‑level solutions that directly support national security
Job Responsibilities:
Lead board‑level design and development of complex digital circuits, modules, and embedded systems from concept through production
Architect advanced electrical circuit board solutions involving secure processing, storage, networking, FPGA technologies, high‑speed interfaces, and electronics designed for extreme operating environments
Develop and analyze high‑speed digital board designs including 400G+ Ethernet, PCIe Gen5+, DDR5+, and next‑generation interconnect technologies
Establish engineering best practices, design guidelines, and quality‑focused processes that enable proactive verification and high‑reliability hardware development
Support proposal development by contributing technical architectures, cost and schedule estimates, and Basis of Estimate (BOE) input
Drive design‑for‑manufacturability (DFM), design‑for‑assembly (DFA), and design‑for‑test (DFT) efforts and collaborate with manufacturing teams to resolve board build issues
Partner with cross‑functional engineering teams to ensure integrated, robust hardware solutions across product lifecycles
Required Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent; Master’s degree preferred
Typically requires a minimum of 6+ years of electrical engineering experience in board-level hardware design from concept through production
Experience architecting and designing complex embedded digital hardware with high‑speed interfaces such as 400G+ Ethernet, PCIe Gen5+, and DDR5+ , memory technologies, and next‑generation interconnects
Strong understanding of high‑speed digital signal‑integrity principles
Experience using board‑level schematic capture tools and collaborating with CAD/SI teams during layout, bring‑up, and verification
Experience mentoring engineers, supporting technical leadership activities, and contributing to cross‑functional collaboration
"This position requires you to access information that is subject to U.S. export regulations. You may only access such information if you are a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. government"
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience with Intel or other advanced CPU architectures such as Xeon‑D, Cascade Lake, or Granite Rapids
Experience with advanced FPGA board technologies including AMD/Xilinx Versal or Intel/Altera Agilex
Experience developing advanced network interface board designs using components from Nvidia, Broadcom, or Marvell
Background with VPX/VITA standards (3U/6U), COM Express, or SoM embedded architectures
Experience with MIL‑STD hardware development for rugged defense environments.
Experience designing secure computing solutions, anti‑tamper features, DRFM hardware, or other specialized defense systems
Exposure to space‑application electronics or radiation‑tolerant component integration
Proficiency with Cadence schematic capture tools (DEHDL/Concept) and Cadence Allegro or equivalent CAD/SI platforms
Experience performing reliability and stress analysis, including FMECA or derating
Familiarity with requirements and workflow tools such as DOORS, JAMA, JIRA, or Confluence
Experience mentoring engineers, leading technical teams, and supporting proposals or BOE development
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