Lead Avionics Electrical Engineer

Astrolab; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 183,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity ownership

Comprehensive health benefits

401(k) plan with company match

Flexible PTO and parental leave

Home office set up reimbursement

Weekly lunch stipend

Complimentary snacks and beverages

Monthly social hour with food and drinks

Job summary

Astrolab in Hawthorne, California is seeking an experienced Lead Computing Electrical Engineer to head the Computing Electrical Engineering group. The role involves leading a team in developing systems for commercial planetary rovers, focusing on mixed signal electronics and PCB development.

Ideal candidates will have a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering and over 10 years' experience in electronics design. Benefits include comprehensive health care, 401(k) match, and equity ownership.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in power, digital, and analog electronics design including schematic capture, PCB layout, and testing.
• 2+ years of team leadership experience as manager of direct reports.
• Proficiency with basic electronic lab equipment such as power supplies, oscilloscopes, DMMs.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Computing Electrical Engineering team of 5+ people in developing and delivering system components.
• Own mixed signal PCBA development from clean sheet to flight.
• Conduct unit design verification testing and system integration testing.

Skills

Mixed signal electronics design

Team leadership

Schematic capture

PCB layout

Circuit simulations

Analog instrumentation

Digital electronics design

Education

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

Spice

Job description

Compensation

$183,000 - $230,000 / year

Application Deadline

23 June 2026

Department

Avionics

Location

Hawthorne, California

Description

Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) is pioneering new ways to explore and operate on distant planetary bodies. We are singularly focused on designing, building, and operating a fleet of multi‑purpose commercial planetary rovers to extend and enhance humanity’s presence in the solar system. We are seeking motivated, creative, and exceptional people to join our world‑class team. The Avionics team is responsible for all aspects of the electrical systems and hardware on Astrolab’s electric rover vehicles and ground support equipment. We work collaboratively with all teams at Astrolab to provide exceptionally capable and reliable electronics to serve our missions. The Lead Computing Electrical Engineer will lead the Computing Electrical Engineering group and participate in all aspects of the development and test of Avionics hardware for Astrolab rovers. The ideal candidate has 10+ years of experience in mixed signal electrical hardware design including schematic capture, PCB layout, and testing. This position will report to the Director of Avionics Engineering and will be based in our Hawthorne, CA office.

What you'll do

• Own the Computing and GNC hardware subsystems including subsystem architectures, requirements, design, analysis, testing, delivery, and operation of those systems on the vehicle.
• Lead the Computing Electrical Engineering team of 5+ people in the development and delivery of system components including vehicle computers, networking, clocking, GNC sensors, servo controllers, and other mixed signal electronics for the vehicle.
• Support Computing Engineering direct reports through their technical work, performance evaluations, and career growth.
• Own mixed signal PCBA development from clean sheet to flight.
• Develop PCBA requirements, architectures, and con‑ops in collaboration with other engineering disciplines.
• Schematic capture and PCB layout of power, digital, and analog circuit PCBAs using Altium Designer.
• Design analysis including power, size, mass, Monte Carlo tolerances, signal integrity, and reliability related.
• Unit design verification testing, qualification testing, and system integration testing.
• Lead design reviews for inter‑disciplinary audiences.
• Vehicle assembly, test, and operations support as needed.

What you'll bring

• Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent.
• 10+ years of experience in power, digital, and analog electronics design including schematic capture, PCB layout, and testing.
• 2+ years of team leadership experience as manager of direct reports.
• Design proficiency with voltage regulators, FPGAs, SoCs, high speed data interfaces, precision analog instrumentation, clocking, etc.
• Skilled at schematic capture and layout of complex PCBs.
• Skilled at performing circuit simulations and analysis in spice, excel, and other tools for analog behavior, signal integrity, size/mass, power, etc.
• Proficiency with basic electronic lab equipment such as power supplies, oscilloscopes, DMMs, signal generators, soldering iron, etc.
• Demonstrated success working in a dynamic environment.

Additional Responsibilities

• Design for space environments including radiation impacts and mitigations.

Benefits and Perks

• Join a team of best‑in‑class engineers building the foundation of planetary surface exploration.
• Equity ownership in the company.
• Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and mental health support.
• 401(k) plan with company match.
• Flexible PTO and parental leave.
• Home office set up reimbursement.
• Weekly lunch stipend, plus complimentary snacks and beverages on‑site.
• Once a month social hour on‑site with food and drinks.