Engineering Manager, Real-Time Controls and Instrumentation
General Atomics
San Diego, CA · Posted September 24, 2026
Just laid off? Start here: a plan for the first weeks
See every open role at General Atomics
More in California job market · All Engineering Manager jobs (1,132) · Aerospace & Defense · Engineering jobs
More roles at General Atomics
- Principal Systems Architect · San Diego, CA
- Vice President, Manufacturing · San Diego, CA
- Cybersecurity Architect - Cybersecurity Architect IV · San Diego, CA
- Test and Integration Engineer · Poway, CA
- Electrical Engineer - Product Design · Poway, CA
- Senior Lead Engineer, Nuclear & Mechanical Systems · San Diego, CA
Similar jobs
- Sr. Director - Engineering · Qualcomm Technologies · San Diego, CA
- Manufacturing Engineering Manager - ADP Skunk Works- Level 5 · Sikorsky Aircraft · Palmdale, CA
- Senior Manager, Engineering - Onboarding · Circle Internet Group · San Francisco, CA
- Sr. R&D IT Manager · 4D Molecular Therapeutics · Emeryville, CA
- Director, Presales Engineering (Req #1329) · Eplus · Irvine, CA
- Senior Principal Engineering Program Manager · Astera Labs · San Jose, CA
Where San Diego, CA ranks
Where San Diego, CA placed in our monthly rankings, month by month. Each month stays online at its own address.
November 2026
- #1Cities hosting the most business conferences in the West Coast78 conferences · of 17
- #2Cities hosting the most human resources conferences6 conferences · of 10
- #3Best cities for life sciences and biotech jobs454 openings · of 41
- #3Best cities for aerospace and defense jobs377 openings · of 67
- #3Cities hosting the most legal services conferences7 conferences · of 17
- #3Cities hosting the most staffing & human capital conferences6 conferences · of 8
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 380 open engineering manager listings that state pay, the middle half runs $157,500 to $260,000 and the median is $212,000.
Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
How AI is used in this kind of work
AI use among architectural and engineering managers is little observed so far. Measured exposure for architectural and engineering managers: 3% (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.
Skills this job asks for
Say which you have and which you want to build. We use it to match you to jobs like this one.
About the job
General Atomics (GA), and its affiliated companies, is one of the world’s leading resources for high-technology systems development ranging from the nuclear fuel cycle to remotely piloted aircraft, airborne sensors, and advanced electric, electronic, wireless and laser technologies. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) designs and manufactures first-of-a-kind electromagnetic and electric power generation systems. GA-EMS' expanding portfolio of specialized products and integrated system solutions support critical fleet, space systems and satellites, missile defense, power and energy, and process and monitoring applications for defense, industrial, and commercial customers worldwide. We have an exciting opportunity for an Electrical Engineering (EE) Manager to join our Electrical Technologies Real-Time Controls & Instrumentation Team located in Rancho Bernardo. We are looking for someone with drive, talent, and experience in real-time controls, instrumentation, and software development who also thrives in a fast-paced, Research and Development (R&D) environment. The successful candidate will report to the Electrical Technologies Instrumentation & Controls Manager and, alongside high-caliber engineering and leadership staff, will be engaged in the engineering support and new development of controls and instrumentation systems for High Energy Laser (HEL) systems, high-power motor drives, power conditioning systems, advanced aerospace and electro-optic sensors, space-based optical communications, nuclear thermal propulsion, cutting-edge technology ventures into Defense and "NewSpace," and a variety of disruptive technologies in the expanding product portfolio of GA-EMS. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Responsible for the planning, managing, and technical performance of an engineering unit through all phases of assigned project(s) from inception through completion. Work with GA-EMS Engineering staff in the development, implementation, integration, and test of controls and instrumentation systems across a variety of product lines and technology areas. Serve as a technical leader and subject matter expert for National Instruments cRIO systems, LabVIEW, LabVIEW Real-Time, and LabVIEW FPGA, providing technical support, architectural guidance, and troubleshooting leadership to the engineering team. Provide architectural leadership for controls systems spanning multiple hardware and software components. Guide decisions involving system decomposition, interfaces, dependencies, integration, maintainability, and testability. Lead system-level troubleshooting efforts involving multiple engineering disciplines and software environments. Work across subsystem boundaries and coordinate engineers with specialized expertise toward root-cause identification and resolution. Lead and participate in technical, architecture, design, and code reviews. Provide technical mentorship and help engineers decompose problems, evaluate design approaches, understand system interactions, and develop effective solutions. Remain sufficiently hands-on to directly support LabVIEW/cRIO development, debugging, integration, and troubleshooting when required. Understand the logic, interfaces, and data flow of text-based software such as C#, C++, or similar languages sufficiently to support technical reviews, troubleshooting, and engineers working in those areas. Apply and promote sound software architecture and design principles including modularity, abstraction, interfaces, object-oriented concepts, separation of concerns, maintainability, and testability. Participate in engineering planning, staffing, estimation, and scheduling activities. Participate in the attraction, selection, retention, mentoring, and development of engineering talent. Communicate technical status, risks, tradeoffs, and recommendations to engineering and program leadership. Represent the organization as a technical contact on assigned programs and interact with internal and external personnel on controls and instrumentation matters. Perform other duties as assigned or required. We recognize and appreciate the value and contributions of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences and welcome all qualified individuals to apply.