Electrical Instrumentation Engineering Jobs in Reston, VA

Position Title: Electrical Design Engineer – GSE (Ground Support Equipment)
Requisition ID: 1786
Position Location: Sterling, VA
Position Reports To: Manger, Space Electronic Systems
Supervises Others: No

At Trident Systems, we believe that strong engineering principles are fundamental to driving innovation and solving complex problems. We promote a culture characterized by rigorous engineering practices and a commitment to continuous improvement. This is achieved by leveraging our organization's collective expertise through collaborative development processes, which include thorough design and peer reviews. We can deliver innovative, high-performance solutions that meet our customers' evolving requirements by integrating our specialized knowledge in aerospace electronic systems with appropriately scaled development methodologies.

We are a mission partner supporting DoD, Intelligence Community, and Civil space customers. We develop complex, radiation effects mitigated, designs that balance competing requirements in modern space programs, delivering cutting-edge solutions that enable our customers to achieve more in space.

Position Summary

The Electrical Design Engineer – GSE supports the design, development, and deployment of electrical hardware used in ground support equipment for aerospace electronics and power systems. This role focuses on custom interface boards, mux boards, breakout boards, harness interfaces, instrumentation connectivity, and automation-enabling hardware that helps scale engineering validation and production support.

The ideal candidate understands circuit boards, schematics, electrical interfaces, instrumentation, and practical lab hardware. This role works closely with embedded software, FPGA, electrical, systems, and hardware infrastructure engineers to develop reusable electrical solutions that reduce manual effort, improve test coverage, and support scalable product delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Design custom electrical hardware for GSE, including mux boards, interface boards, breakout boards, adapter boards, harness interface boards, and instrumentation support circuits.
• Develop schematics, PCB layouts, BOMs, assembly documentation, and supporting design files.
• Select components, connectors, relays, switching devices, protection circuits, power components, and instrumentation interfaces.
• Support board bring-up, debug, validation, rework, and troubleshooting.
• Develop electrical solutions that support automated testing, scalable validation, and production support workflows.
• Work with software and automation engineers to ensure GSE hardware can be controlled, monitored, and reused efficiently.
• Support integration of DAQs, power supplies, electronic loads, DMMs, oscilloscopes, switching systems, and custom electronics.
• Troubleshoot issues involving signal routing, grounding, power distribution, protection, noise, EMI/EMC, connectorization, and harness interfaces.
• Maintain design documentation, BOMs, configuration records, wiring/interface documentation, and release packages.
• Partner with product electrical engineers to understand board-level interfaces and avoid damaging flight or engineering hardware.
• Support off-site integration activities or travel, as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
  

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related technical discipline, or equivalent practical engineering experience, and 4+ years of related experience
• Experience designing, developing, or supporting electrical hardware, PCB assemblies, test hardware, GSE, lab systems, or automation-supporting electronics.
• Experience with schematic capture, PCB layout, board bring-up, and electrical troubleshooting.
• Familiarity with digital and analog circuit design, signal routing, power distribution, protection circuitry, and connector/interface design.
• Experience developing BOMs, drawings, assembly documentation, and configuration-controlled electrical design documentation.
• Experience using lab instrumentation including oscilloscopes, DMMs, DAQs, power supplies, loads, and signal generators.
• Ability to debug electrical issues at the board, harness, instrumentation, and system level.
• Strong organizational, communication, and documentation skills.
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in aerospace, defense, industrial automation, robotics, or high-reliability electronics environments.
• Experience designing mux boards, relay boards, load boards, breakout boards, adapter cards, or automated test interface hardware.
• Familiarity with embedded interfaces including UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, Ethernet, GPIO, ADC/DAC, LVDS, RS-422, or RS-485.
• Experience with Altium, KiCad, OrCAD, Eagle, or similar ECAD tools.
• Familiarity with Python-controlled instruments, SCPI, VISA, DAQs, or automated test systems.
• Knowledge of ESD, grounding, shielding, EMI/EMC, and safe lab practices.
• Experience supporting production test, validation, or scalable engineering infrastructure.

Pay Information

Full-Time Salary Range: $81,000 - $150,000
Please Note: Actual compensation offered will be determined based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant experience, skills, education, certifications, internal equity, business considerations, and geographic location where applicable.

Benefits

Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits including but not limited to:

• Health benefits
  • Medical
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Basic life with AD&D
  • Short term disability
  • Long term disability
  • Ancillary (Voluntary life with AD&D, accident, critical illness, hospital, and pet)
  • Spending accounts (HSA, FSA, and DCFSA)
• Paid time off
• Holidays
• 401(k) (including company match)
• Tuition reimbursement
• Leaves (Parental, maternity, and military)
• Annual discretionary bonus (for eligible roles)

Trident Systems reserves the right to change or assign other duties to this position.

Trident Solutions is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. To request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact recruiting@tridsys.com.

Pay Transparency: The contractor will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor’s legal duty to furnish information. 41 CFR 60-1.35(c)