Avionics Radiation Hardness Assurance Engineer

Mclaurin Aerospace; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Employer-paid insurance

Relocation assistance

11 paid holidays annually

Generous PTO

401k after 12 months

Education assistance

Job summary

Mclaurin Aerospace in Houston, TX is hiring an Avionics Radiation Hardness Assurance Engineer to join NASA Johnson Space Center as part of the JETS II contract. You will work on radiation testing, analyses, and MEAL-based qualification to ensure reliability of spaceflight electronics.

The role involves collaboration with design teams, preparation of test plans and reports, and engagement with program managers and boards to drive radiation assurance across missions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field with radiation experience.
• Knowledge of radiation effects in microelectronics and avionics.
• Experience with Radiation Hardness Assurance activities (MEAL factors, testing, shielding, SEECA, SOA).
• Experience with SEE/TID/ELDRS/TNID/DDD screening and test setups.
• Ability to read schematics and collaborate with teams to present conclusions.

Responsibilities

• Support radiation testing and analyses across project lifecycle.
• Drive decision-making for radiation testing and reliability.
• Tailor RHA requirements based on mission, environment and lifetime factors.
• Evaluate electronic hardware for safety, performance, reliability.
• Prepare radiation test plans, reports, and risk assessments.
• Work with technicians and engineers and report to section manager.

Skills

Radiation hardness

Avionics systems

Radiation testing

Risk assessment

Electronic troubleshooting

Schematics evaluation

Education

Electrical/Materials/Aerospace/Nuclear Eng or Physics

MS/PhD in radiation area

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

Power supplies

MBSE tools (MagicDraw, Cameo)

Job description

Are you passionate about human space exploration, understanding the origins of the universe, and working with a passionate and diverse team to make a difference? If you are, we need you!

We need your talent, teamwork, and energy to help us achieve great things that inspire people all over the globe. We need you to bring creative ideas and diverse backgrounds to help us envision, shape, and deliver systems that will enable the exploration of space while benefiting people here on Earth. We are excited about what we do, and we need you on our team as we take on exciting challenges for NASA's pursuits in deep space exploration.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Avionics Radiation Hardness Assurance Engineer to join our JETS II contract team at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.

If selected you will:

• Support new projects and sustaining efforts throughout product life cycle, including--standards adjudications, system requirements r views, milestone design reviews, requirements verification (testing, analysis, inspection), risk management, and failure investigations
• Drive critical decision-making processes for performing radiation testing/analysis, deriving part performance classification and taxoomy, and improving vehicle, system, and subsystem level radiation reliability and survivability
• Tailor Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA) requirements based upon mission, environment, application, and lifetime (MEAL) factors as well as program/project risk posture
• Bound stochastic and deterministic electronics failure modes by natural space radiation environment
• Collaborate with design engineers, project personnel, external providers, and other stakeholders to evaluate performance of electronic hardware and address impacts to functional, performance, safety, reliability, and availability metric
• Prepare radiation test plans, procedures, reports, analyses, risk assessments and present conclusions to team members, project engineers, and program managers systems engineers, formal boards/panels, and more
• Read and understand schematics for circuit and system diagrams to evaluate upstream and downstream impacts
• Make recommendations for design, process improvements, and data collection
• Adapt in the face of technical hurdles and overcome challenges associated with increasing use of industrial-grade and automotive grade components in space applications
• Work directly with technicians, engineers, managers, and other stak holders on a wide variety of Projects/Programs
• Report directly to the Electronics and Electrical Section Manager as part of group of over 45 other Electronics and Electrical Engineers

Qualifications:

This position has been posted at multiple levels. Depending on the candidate's experience, requirements, and business needs, we reserve the right to consider candidates at any level for which this position has been advertised.

• Typically requires a bachelor's degree in Engineering with experience in the field or in a related area.
• BS degree in Electrical, Materials, Aerospace, Nuclear Engineering, and/or Physics in related radiation area from an accredited engineering school and a minimum of zero (0) years of related experience, or a MS/ PhD in related radiation area with degree in Electrical, Materials, Aerospace, Nuclear Engineering and/or Physics from an accredited engineering school.
• Possess technical knowledge of radiation effects in microelectronics and/or avionics systems, may include: basic mechanisms for single-event effects and total dose, test strategies, and mitigation techniques, and analysis of circuits and systems
• Be familiar with the suite of activities known as Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA) for avionics (analog, digital, power, etc.): determining Mission, Environment, Application, and Lifetime (MEAL) factors, developing and interpreting requirements, bill-of-materials requirement gap analysis, radiation testing, environment definition, radiation transport, shielding analysis, dose-depth curves, Single-Event Effects Criticality Analysis (SEECA), derating, Safe Operating Area (SOA), Radiation Design Margin (RDM), literature surveys, etc.
• Assess EEEE parts, circuits, functions, components, subsystems, and systems to evaluate risks, effectiveness of mitigation strategies, and the ability to meet functional, performance, safety, and reliability requirements during and after exposure to the mission ionizing radiation environment
• Lead or support screening and characterization test efforts for heavy ion, proton, and pulsed-laser Single-Event Effects (SEE), Total Ionizing Dose (TID), Enhanced Low-Dose Rate Sensitivity (ELDRS), Total Non Ionizing Dose (TNID), Displacement Damage Dose (DDD), etc.
• Design, troubleshoot, and repair new and existing radiation test setups, may include: cables, laboratory test equipment, printed circuit boards, software, firmware, hardware description languages, etc.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Excellent communication and organizational skills and the ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team designing and building world‑class NASA spaceflight hardware
• Experience with test hardware such as oscilloscopes, multi-meters, logic analyzers, function generators, electronic load banks, power supplies, power analyzers., etc.
• Project based experience designing, building, testing, and troubleshooting embedded systems, internet of things, power electronics, battery systems, and other electrical hardware (requirements definition; system modeling and simulation; circuit analysis; PCB design, fabrication; requirements verification)
• Familiarity with systems engineering and ntegration (S&EI) and/or specialty engineering for NASA spaceflight (or similar complexity)
• Analyze and interpret complex avionics design products including schematics, block diagrams, component specifications, parts lists, fault tree analysis, etc.
• Experience with gaining technical insights from stakeholder meetings to generate risk assessments and models for systems/subsystems
• Proficiency with MBSE tools--MagicDraw, Cameo, etc.--and familiarity with graphml file formats and network modeling
• Proficient in MS Office Suite, particularly Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word, OneDrive & Project
• Familiarity with Poisson,Markov, and/or Gaussian statistical analysis
• Experience as a test engineer or laboratory scientist
• A strong ability to remain flexible and effective amid frequent changes, shifting priorities, and
• evolving expectations, while maintaining clear communication (Teams,
• email, and phone), consistent follow ‑ through despite administrative delays
• Demonstrated proactive approach to resolving issues, including seeking clarification, and asking for support, when necessary

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Positive work-life balance
• 100% Employer paid insurance including: Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, short-term disability, and long-term disability
• 11 paid holidays annually
• Generous PTO
• 401k after 12 months of service with employer match
• Education assistance
• Relocation assistance (if applicable)

Mclaurin is a unique organization with a special focus on combining the best features of research and industry in order to foster innovation. Our organization strongly supports research, publication, and engagement with the academic community. We encourage our employees to remain on the cutting edge of new developments in their respective disciplines.

US Citizenship and the ability to pass a comprehensive security background investigation is required.

Mclaurin is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.