Electrical Engineer - Avionics

W a R D S T O N E; El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Wardstone is seeking a hands-on Electrical Engineer to lead the development of high-reliability electronics for interceptor prototypes and future VLEO satellites. You will own board-level design to power systems, sensor integration, EMI/EMC, and flight hardware integration.

Collaborate with founders, integrate components, run tests, and ship hardware that flies and intercepts targets. A fast-paced environment with rapid prototyping awaits a motivated engineer.

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• Strong experience with PCB design tools (KiCad, Altium, or similar).
• Hands-on prototyping experience: soldering, rework, bring-up, rapid iteration.
• Experience integrating sensors, mixed-signal electronics, or power systems.
• Comfort with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and test equipment.
• Strong fundamentals in circuit analysis, signal integrity, noise, grounding, and EMI/EMC.
• Ability to own hardware end-to-end: design, build, test, debug, iterate.
• US Person or Lawful Permanent Resident status required.

Responsibilities

• Design, simulate, and develop PCBs for sensing, actuation, power, and avionics.
• Own schematic capture, layout, DFM, component selection, and vendor interaction.
• Develop high-reliability power systems (DC-DC, battery systems, protection circuits, transient management).
• Integrate IR cameras, Radar, IMUs, GNSS, rad-hard components, and electromechanical actuators.
• Develop signal-conditioning circuits, sensor fusion interfaces, and low-latency sensing+actuation to enable the autopilot to control the vehicle.
• Perform thermal, vibration, and shock analysis for >100km altitude environments.
• Collaborate closely with embedded software engineers on microcontroller architectures, drivers, and electrical-firmware interfaces.
• Bring-up, debug, test, and iterate hardware in the lab using scopes, logic analyzers, DAQs, etc.
• Write requirements, test plans, and documentation.
• Take hardware from concept -> prototype -> test -> flight-ready.
• Rapid debugging and converging on functional+performant solutions.

Skills

PCB design

Schematic capture

Prototype development

Sensor integration

Power systems

EMI/EMC

Oscilloscopes

Hardware bring-up

Education

BS/MS in Electrical Engineering

Tools

KiCad

Altium

Logic analyzers

Job description

Overview

We are looking for a hands-on Electrical Engineer to lead the development of high-reliability electronics for our interceptor prototypes and future VLEO satellites. You will own everything from board-level design to power systems, sensor integration, EMI/EMC, and flight hardware integration. Expect to work directly with founders, integrate components, run tests, and ship hardware that flies and intercepts targets.

If you’re excited by high-stakes engineering, rapid prototyping, and pushing physics boundaries, we are going to get along great!

What You’ll Do

Electrical Design & Prototyping

• Design, simulate, and develop PCBs for sensing, actuation, power, and avionics.
• Own schematic capture, layout, DFM, component selection, and vendor interaction.
• Develop high-reliability power systems (DC-DC, battery systems, protection circuits, transient management).

Sensor and Actuator Solutions

• Integrate IR cameras, Radar, IMUs, GNSS, rad-hard components, and electromechanical actuators.
• Develop signal-conditioning circuits, sensor fusion interfaces, and low-latency sensing+actuation to enable the autopilot to control the vehicle.

Flight Hardware & Harsh-Environment Design

• Perform thermal, vibration, and shock analysis for >100km altitude environments.
• Support hardware qualification: TVAC, vibe, EMI/EMC, and high-G ground testing.

Embedded & System Integration

• Collaborate closely with embedded software engineers on microcontroller architectures, drivers, and electrical-firmware interfaces.
• Bring-up, debug, test, and iterate hardware in the lab using scopes, logic analyzers, DAQs, etc.

Execution & Ownership

• Write requirements, test plans, and documentation.
• Take hardware from concept -> prototype -> test -> flight-ready.
• Rapid debugging and converging on functional+performant solutions.

Required Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• Strong experience with PCB design tools (KiCad, Altium, or similar).
• Hands-on prototyping experience: soldering, rework, bring-up, rapid iteration.
• Experience integrating sensors, mixed-signal electronics, or power systems.
• Comfort with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and test equipment.
• Strong fundamentals in circuit analysis, signal integrity, noise, grounding, and EMI/EMC.
• Ability to own hardware end-to-end: design, build, test, debug, iterate.
• US Person or Lawful Permanent Resident status required.

Nice to Haves

• Experience with IR cameras, high-speed digital buses, or RF systems.
• Background in aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous systems, automotive, or satellites.
• Knowledge of high-G design, radiation effects, or space-environment electronics.
• Embedded firmware experience (C/C++, STM32/Teensy/PIC/ESP32, RTOS).
• Familiarity with power systems, motor drives, or actuator control.
• Experience with MIL-STD-461, DO-160, or NASA/ESA flight hardware standards.