Avionics Systems Engineer II — Spacecraft HITL & Reentry

Varda; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 153,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Relocation assistance

Stock options

401(k) with match

Wellness reimbursement

Parental leave

EV charging

Job summary

Varda is seeking an Electrical Systems Engineer II in El Segundo, CA to oversee the design, integration, and testing of avionics for the Winnebago Spaceship. You will ensure systems readiness for launch and reentry, coordinating across engineering teams and applying rigorous verification plans.

You will guide architecture, participate in mission operations, and mentor junior staff while contributing to test automation and best practices.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field.
• 3+ years of experience in system design, test planning, and validation.
• Proficiency in programming and debugging with Python.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cross functional teams to define project scopes and initial requirements, guiding designs from concept to prototype and full-scale production.
• Develop electrical architecture, system diagrams, and budgets to account for power, telemetry, channel count, size, and mass predictions used to communicate closing vehicle solutions to company level objectives.
• Analyze architecture for potential faults and risks, develop comprehensive mitigation plans, resolve uncertainties, and collaborate on Fault Detection Isolation and Recovery (FDIR) or operational workarounds when hardware solutions are unfeasible.
• Conduct comprehensive verification plans for avionics systems on flight and HITL hardware, ensuring readiness for launch and compliance with mission objectives for space and reentry operations.
• Participate in mission operations as an Avionics specialist or system operator, where they’ll determine system health, suggest corrective actions to reentry commit criteria for operational success.
• Oversee the integration of the Winnebago avionics systems, acting as the primary point of contact for integrated systems investigations.
• Design, build, and operate the Hardware In The Loop (HITL) testbeds, simulating the spacecraft on the ground to ensure all systems are mission ready.
• Develop avionics ground infrastructure, support the design and integration of test racks and R&D equipment used to power and communicate with the flight vehicles.
• Draw from their experiences to help mentor and train new engineers, fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement within the team.

Skills

Python

Project management

Avionics knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Power supplies

Modular DAQ systems

RTD & 4-20mA devices

HITL testbeds

Unix CLI

Job description

Varda is seeking an Electrical Systems Engineer II in El Segundo, CA to oversee the design, integration, and testing of avionics for the Winnebago Spaceship. You will ensure systems readiness for launch and reentry, coordinating across engineering teams and applying rigorous verification plans.

You will guide architecture, participate in mission operations, and mentor junior staff while contributing to test automation and best practices.