Lead Hardware Engineer

Relativity Space; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 151,000 - 227,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

Generous PTO and sick leave policy

Parental leave

Annual learning and development stipend

Job summary

Relativity Space in Long Beach is seeking a leader for the Avionics Hardware team to develop custom electronics for the Terran R rocket. This role involves overseeing the entire product lifecycle and working across teams to ensure integration and performance.

The ideal candidate will possess a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and over five years of relevant experience in electronics design. The position offers a competitive salary range of $151,000 to $227,000, alongside comprehensive benefits and perks.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in mission-critical electronics design.
• Experience leading engineers and driving design processes.
• Experience ensuring projects are completed on time and within budget.

Responsibilities

• Manage a team of electrical engineers in developing custom electronics.
• Support the full product lifecycle from design to vehicle operations.
• Collaborate with teams to ensure optimal decisions for the vehicle.

Skills

Electronics design for harsh environments

Leading engineers in best practices

Driving rigorous engineering processes

Working with cross-functional teams

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Embedded software development

Job description

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you’re not just executing tasks; you’re solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team

The Avionics team is responsible for the full lifecycle of Terran R’s nervous system, designing, building, testing, installing, and operating the hardware that connects and controls every major electrical system on the vehicle and ground. The team leverages close partnership between avionics design, manufacturing, and test to enable rapid iteration and feedback loops. Engineers are deeply embedded into other functions within Relativity, working closely with propulsion, GNC, fluids, and stage engineering teams to ensure seamless integration and operation. Now is a unique time to join: you’ll get to help shape Terran R's fundamental avionics architecture and be given a high degree of ownership on components that will fly.

About the Role

As a leader of a portion of the Avionics Hardware team, you will manage a team of electrical engineers in development of custom electronics for Relativity’s rocket, Terran R. You will support the team through the full product lifecycle including initial design, board bring-up, design verification, qualification, initial flight production, integration, and vehicle operations. You will work with cross‑functional partner teams across the company to help the team make the best possible decisions for the overall vehicle. A strong candidate for the role will have a deep technical background in electronics design and will coach individual engineers in technical and non‑technical best practices while fostering a culture of collaboration and high‑performance.

About You

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
• 5+ years of experience in electronics design for harsh environments and mission‑critical applications (including, but not limited to, launch vehicles, spacecraft, aircraft, or robotics)
• Experience leading engineers in best‑practices and domain‑specific technical principles
• Experience driving rigorous engineering process and initiatives (requirements capture, design reviews, design verification, etc.)
• Experience overseeing the strategic planning, design, development, testing, and implementation of advanced avionics systems, ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget
• Experience working with highly cross‑functional teams (mechanical, thermal, electrical, software, etc.) to develop integrated electronics solutions

Nice to haves but not required

• Familiarity with embedded software development and integration for avionics systems
• Experience with design for reliability and manufacturability of avionics hardware and systems
• Technical expertise in at least one of these areas:
  • Power electronics: motor drives and control, DC‑DC converters, load switches, high voltage DC electronics
  • Digital electronics: high speed serial interfaces (SPI, PCIe, Ethernet, etc.); memory interfaces; design for SoCs, microcontrollers, and microprocessors
  • Mixed‑signal electronics: ADCs, DACs, signal conditioning, amplifier circuits, filter design, etc.

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job‑related factors. Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range: $151,000 – $227,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at [e-mail].