Electrical Engineer - Avionics

Wardstone; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Wardstone in Los Angeles is seeking a hands-on Electrical Engineer to lead the development of high-reliability electronics for interceptor prototypes and future VLEO satellites. You'll manage everything from board-level design to system integration, directly collaborating with founders.

The ideal candidate will have a B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering and experience with PCB design tools. US citizenship is a requirement. This role offers the chance to work on groundbreaking projects in a fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

• Strong experience with PCB design tools like KiCad or Altium.
• Hands-on prototyping skills including soldering and rapid iteration.
• Experience integrating mixed-signal electronics and power systems.
• Strong fundamentals in circuit analysis and signal integrity.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop PCBs for various applications.
• Integrate sensor solutions and develop signal-conditioning circuits.
• Perform thermal and vibration analysis for altitude environments.
• Collaborate with software engineers for system integration.

Skills

PCB design

Prototyping experience

Sensor integration

Circuit analysis

EMI/EMC fundamentals

Education

B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering

Tools

KiCad

Altium

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

Job description

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 CITIZENSHIP 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.