Avionics Engineer

Wardstone; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Wardstone is seeking an energetic electronics engineer to own the electronics for our interceptors, from board‑level design to power systems, sensors, and the electrical interface to the launcher. You will design boards, build and debug them, and drive them through qualification to flight.

You will work directly with the founders and with the seeker, GNC, embedded software, propulsion, and mechanical engineers. Your hardware will fly and intercept targets.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 2+ years designing and fielding electronics hardware, with at least one system from design through test.
• Strong PCB design experience and mixed-signal/power electronics.
• Fundamentals in circuit analysis, signal integrity, noise, grounding, EMI/EMC.
• Hands-on prototyping, soldering, bring-up, and debugging.

Responsibilities

• Define avionics architecture, flight computer, power distribution, and data buses.
• Design, simulate, and lay out PCBs for computing, sensing, actuation, and power.
• Own schematic capture, layout, components, DFM, and vendor work.
• Develop power systems including DC–DC conversion and battery protection.
• Integrate sensors/actuators and design low-latency interfaces for flight software.
• Lead electrical qualification, EMI/EMC, vibration, thermal, and high‑G tests.
• Bring up, debug, and iteratively test hardware in the lab with scopes and DAQs.
• Write requirements, test plans, and documentation; take hardware to flight‑ready.

Skills

Electrical design

PCB layout

Soldering & prototyping

Oscilloscopes & test equipment

System integration

Education

B.S. in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium

KiCad

Job description

Overview

You will own the electronics on Wardstone’s interceptors, from board-level design and power systems to sensor integration, harnessing, and the electrical interface to the launcher. This is a hands‑on role. You’ll design boards, build and debug them yourself, and take them through qualification to flight. You’ll work directly with the founders and with the seeker, GNC, embedded software, propulsion, and mechanical engineers. Your hardware will fly and intercept targets.

What You’ll Do

Design the electronics

• Define the avionics architecture, including the flight computer, power distribution, and data buses.
• Design, simulate, and lay out PCBs for computing, sensing, actuation, and power.
• Own schematic capture, layout, component selection, DFM, and vendor work.
• Develop reliable power systems, including DC–DC conversion, batteries, protection circuits, and transient management.

Integrate sensors and actuators

• Integrate the seeker, IMUs, GNSS, and electromechanical actuators.
• Design signal-conditioning circuits and low‑latency sensor and actuator interfaces for the flight software and autopilot.
• Design wiring harnesses with the mechanical team, along with the electrical interface to the launcher.

Design for harsh environments

• Design electronics to survive high‑G launch, vibration, shock, and thermal extremes, working with the mechanical team on packaging and analysis.
• Lead electrical qualification testing, including EMI/EMC, vibration, thermal, and high‑G testing.

Bring up and integrate hardware

• Work with embedded software engineers on processor selection, drivers, and the hardware‑firmware interface.
• Bring up, debug, and iterate hardware in the lab using scopes, logic analyzers, and DAQs.
• Support vehicle integration, ground testing, and flight test.

Own it end to end

• Write requirements, test plans, and documentation.
• Take hardware from concept through prototype and test to flight‑ready.

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
• 2+ years designing and fielding electronics hardware, including at least one system taken from design through test. Student rocketry or similar project teams count.
• Strong PCB design experience (Altium, KiCad, or similar), including mixed‑signal and power electronics.
• Strong fundamentals in circuit analysis, signal integrity, noise, grounding, and EMI/EMC.
• Experience integrating sensors, actuators, and power systems.
• Hands‑on prototyping skills, including soldering, rework, bring‑up, and debugging.
• Comfortable with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and other lab equipment.
• Must be a U.S. person as defined by ITAR (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual). [Must be eligible to obtain a U.S. security clearance.]

Nice to Have

• Experience with avionics for missiles, rockets, UAVs, or other high‑speed flight vehicles.
• Experience with high‑G electronics design and qualification.
• Experience with wiring harness design or launcher and vehicle electrical interfaces.
• Experience with high‑speed digital buses or RF systems.
• Embedded firmware experience (C/C++, RTOS).
• Experience with motor drives or actuator control.
• Experience with MIL‑STD‑461, MIL‑STD‑810, or similar flight hardware standards.
• Prior early‑stage startup experience.

Compensation

The base pay range for this role is $100,000 – $130,000 per year.