Avionics / Electronics Engineer (Senior) cosine

WIA-Europe; Sassenheim; Hybrid; EUR 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

cosine is seeking a Senior Avionics / Electronics Engineer to drive the electronic backbone of optical payloads for space missions. You will own avionics designs from concept through qualification and mentor junior engineers across multidisciplinary teams.

You will lead technical discussions with customers and suppliers, shaping architectures that balance performance, reliability and cost while ensuring mission requirements are met.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in avionics, aerospace, electronics, or electrical engineering.
• Extensive aerospace/defense high-reliability systems experience.
• Experience defining complex electronic architectures (power, data, control, sensors).
• Proven leadership in customer/supplier discussions and technical reviews.
• Experience with supplier management and industrialization of subsystems.

Responsibilities

• Define, own and evolve avionics and electronics architecture for optical payloads.
• Lead technical decision-making across the development lifecycle.
• Serve as primary technical authority to suppliers and subcontractors.
• Guide system-level integration, verification and qualification activities.
• Coach and mentor junior engineers and improve engineering methods and standards.

Skills

Avionics design

Electronics architecture

Technical leadership

Supplier management

Mentoring

Education

Master’s degree in avionics/electronics engineering

Job description

Your (space) mission

As the Senior Avionics / Electronics Engineer at cosine you play a leading role in defining and realizing the electronic backbone of advanced optical payloads for space missions. You take ownership of avionics and electronics developments from early concept through integration and qualification, ensuring robust, scalable and mission-ready solutions. Beyond your technical expertise, you act as a trusted advisor within multidisciplinary teams, guiding architectural decisions, mentoring junior engineers and helping elevate engineering excellence across projects. Your work directly contributes to Earth observation, environmental monitoring, defence-related remote sensing and planetary science missions that generate critical insights from orbit.

Tasks & responsibilities

In this role you will:

• Define, own and evolve the avionics and electronics architecture of optical payloads, translating system requirements into robust electronic designs, interfaces and specifications
• Lead technical decision-making throughout the development lifecycle, balancing performance, reliability, manufacturability, cost and schedule considerations
• Act as the primary technical authority towards suppliers and subcontractors, driving technical alignment, design reviews, procurement strategies and make-or-buy decisions
• Guide system-level integration, verification and qualification activities, resolving complex technical challenges and ensuring compliance with mission requirements
• Coach and mentor junior engineers, provide technical leadership across projects and contribute to continuous improvement of engineering methods, standards and best practices

Your profile

We are looking for candidates with the following qualifications:

• A Master’s degree in avionics, aerospace engineering, electronics engineering, electrical engineering or a related field
• Extensive experience in avionics or electronics development for aerospace, space, defense or other high-reliability systems
• Proven expertise in defining and reviewing complex electronic architectures, including power systems, data handling, control electronics and sensor interfaces
• Experience leading technical discussions with customers, suppliers and multidisciplinary engineering teams throughout complete development programs
• Strong experience with procurement, supplier management and industrialization of electronic subsystems and components
• Demonstrated ability to provide technical leadership, mentor junior engineers and drive engineering excellence within project teams

What we offer

At cosine, we highly value our employees, and we will support your professional and personal development. We also provide our employees with:

• A unique, international working environment at the intersection of physics and engineering
• The opportunity to deliver end-to-end solutions in autonomous project teams, in close collaboration with customers
• 27 days of annual leave (based on full-time employment)
• Annual bonus based on personal and company performance
• Hybrid working options, including the possibility to work partially from home
• Company bicycle- and fitness plan
• A personal development budget
• Initial one-year contract, with the aim of long-term collaboration

About cosine

Founded in 1998, cosine is a world-leading developer of space instrumentation and measurement systems, making the invisible measurable and the complex actionable.
Its expertise spans High-Energy Optics, including optics developed for ESA’s future NewAthena X-ray observatory, as well as remote sensing solutions for Earth Observation and planetary science. With over 25 years of experience and advanced cleanroom and assembly facilities across the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy, cosine brings deep scientific and engineering expertise to some of the most demanding missions in space and on Earth.
What makes cosine a unique place to work is that your work goes end-to-end: from concept and design to building, testing, and delivering hardware that actually flies in space. You work in small, highly skilled teams where you have real ownership and impact, alongside experts in optics, physics, nanofabrication, and systems engineering.
cosine is committed to providing an inclusive and equal opportunities work environment where everyone can thrive. As a proud member of the Women in Aerospace community, we recognise the importance of diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity in the workplace.