Director of Avionics

Stanford Climate Ventures; El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/vision/dental/PTO/401k/stock

Job summary

General Galactic Technologies Corporation, based in Los Angeles, CA, seeks a Director of Avionics to architect and own the electrical design for advanced spacecraft. You will guide the hardware roadmap from concept through flight operations, with potential to scale into broader leadership as the company grows.

You will define interfaces, redundancy, fault tolerance, and power/communication architectures, leading flight computers, power electronics, sensors, and embedded hardware while mentoring

Qualifications

• BS in electrical engineering, computer engineering, aerospace engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years avionics or electrical hardware experience, preferably in aerospace.
• Experience leading avionics architecture for complex hardware-integrated systems.
• Strong schematic capture, PCB layout, bring-up, and hardware debugging.
• Experience with analog, digital, power, embedded, and communication system design.
• Familiarity with CAN, RS-422, SpaceWire, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, UART, and discrete I/O.
• Experience with spacecraft harnessing, grounding, shielding, EMC, and power distribution.
• Understanding of derating, radiation effects, fault tolerance, thermal constraints, high-reliability design.
• Experience with environmental qualification, hazard analysis, root-cause analysis, and production support.
• Experience building and leading technical teams in a fast-paced environment.
• First-principles approach to solving problems with incomplete information.
• Ability to make efficient, technically sound decisions under uncertainty.

Responsibilities

• Own the avionics architecture for General Galactic vehicles, test systems, and ground support equipment.
• Lead design, development, integration, qualification, and deployment of spacecraft electrical and avionics systems.
• Define system-level requirements, interfaces, redundancy, fault tolerance, grounding, power distribution, and communication architectures.
• Oversee schematic design, PCB layout, component selection, board bring-up, and production release.
• Lead development of flight computers, power electronics, sensor interfaces, communication systems, and embedded hardware.
• Recruit, mentor, and manage electrical and avionics engineers as the team grows.
• Collaborate with software, GNC, propulsion, mechanical, and systems teams to deliver integrated vehicle hardware.
• Establish practical avionics development processes, including design reviews, configuration control, documentation, and test tracking.

Skills

Avionics leadership

System design

Cross-functional collaboration

Team mentoring

Requirements definition

Education

Bachelor's degree in EE/CE/AE

Tools

Schematic capture

PCB layout

Hardware debugging

Power electronics

Embedded interfaces

Job description

About General Galactic

General Galactic designs, builds, and flies advanced spacecraft that redefine what's possible beyond Earth. Led by former SpaceX, Varda, Impulse, and Relativity engineers, our vision is to dominate cislunar space and build the railway to Mars - expanding access to high-energy orbits and enabling the next generation of missions along the way. Based in Los Angeles, California, we're leveraging our paradigm-shifting water-based technology to reshape the space domain for good.

Job Description

This is a senior technical leadership role for someone who can both architect and build. As Director of Avionics, you will work directly with the founders and technical team to define and own the electrical architecture, development roadmap, verification approach, and brain for General Galactic vehicles and missions. You will be expected to move quickly, exercise strong technical judgment, and take ownership of avionics from early design through test, qualification, deployment, and flight operations. As the company grows, this role can also scale into broader team leadership.

Responsibilities may include:

• Own the avionics architecture for General Galactic vehicles, test systems, and ground support equipment
• Lead the design, development, integration, qualification, and deployment of spacecraft electrical and avionics systems
• Define system-level requirements, interfaces, redundancy, fault tolerance, grounding, power distribution, and communication architectures
• Oversee schematic design, PCB layout, component selection, board bring-up, and production release
• Lead development of flight computers, power electronics, sensor interfaces, communication systems, and embedded hardware
• Recruit, mentor, and manage electrical and avionics engineers as the team grows
• Collaborate with software, GNC, propulsion, mechanical, and systems teams to deliver integrated vehicle hardware
• Establish practical avionics development processes, including design reviews, configuration control, documentation, and test tracking

Requirements

Successful applicants should have most of the following:

• BS in electrical engineering, computer engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field
• 5+ years of avionics or electrical hardware development experience, preferably in aerospace
• Experience leading avionics architecture and development for complex, hardware-integrated systems
• Strong experience with schematic capture, PCB layout, board bring-up, and hardware debugging
• Experience with analog, digital, power, embedded, and communication system design
• Familiarity with spacecraft interfaces such as CAN, RS-422, SpaceWire, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, UART, and discrete I/O
• Experience with spacecraft harnessing, grounding, shielding, EMC, and power distribution
• Understanding of component derating, radiation effects, fault tolerance, thermal constraints, and high-reliability design
• Experience with environmental qualification, hazard analysis, root-cause analysis, and production support
• Experience building and leading technical teams in a fast-paced environment
• First-principles approach to solving problems with incomplete information
• Ability to make efficient, technically sound decisions under uncertainty

Your salary and incentives will be determined individually on the basis of the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

• Benefits include medical/vision/dental/PTO/401k/stock options, and more!

This position requires access to information protected under US export control laws, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations and/or the Export Administration Regulations. As such, US person status (including US citizens, U.S. permanent residents, individuals granted U.S. asylum status, or individuals admitted in U.S. refugee status) is a required qualification for this position.

General Galactic Technologies Corporation provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type 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.