Manager, Avionics

ICEYE US; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Flexible PTO

Friendly work environment

Extra fun perks

Job summary

ICEYE US seeks a Manager, Avionics to lead the engineering team responsible for payload and vehicle-level electrical architecture, avionics systems, communications, and onboard networking. You will own the avionics baseline across programs, ensuring integration readiness for environmental test and launch.

The role requires steering cross-functional collaboration with systems, RF, mechanical, thermal, software, and program management to deliver flight-ready avionics hardware and architectures.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in spacecraft electrical design and avionics development.
• 2+ years of direct engineering management or technical lead experience.
• Deep background in spacecraft power systems, harnessing, avionics bus architectures, and payload-to-bus integration.
• Experience developing and owning ICDs for hardware-to-hardware and system-to-system interfaces.
• Experience with system-level integration and environmental testing (vibration, TVAC, EMI/EMC).
• Experience with onboard communications and data networking architectures for spacecraft.
• Familiarity with spacecraft GNC constraints as they pertain to payload performance.
• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of electrical, communications, networking, and avionics engineers; hire and develop talent.
• Own avionics subsystem program execution: planning, scheduling, resources, risk tracking, and milestones.
• Set and enforce avionics engineering standards, processes, and operating framework across the lifecycle.
• Serve as the avionics technical authority across program reviews and cross-functional teams.
• Own the payload electrical architecture: power distribution, harnessing, interfaces, data buses, and network topology.
• Lead avionics architecture definition across products.
• Design and analyze payload electrical systems to meet power, mass, thermal, EMI/EMC requirements.
• Guide design of PCBA components to meet mission requirements within architecture constraints.
• Develop onboard networking designs including data routing, bandwidth, latency, and fault tolerance.

Skills

Electrical engineering

Avionics development

Leadership

Systems engineering

Spacecraft power systems

Onboard networking

Environmental testing

ICD development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Master's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Tools

FPGA design

Embedded systems

DFT

EGSE development

EMI/EMC

HDL design

Job description

Manager, Avionics

At ICEYE, we design, build and operate the largest fleet of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites in the world. Using advanced technology, our constellation collects topographical data about any location on Earth, day or night, through any weather conditions.

Headquartered in Southern California, our customers are society’s heroes – intelligence professionals, warfighters, first responders, and scientific researchers. As a trusted mission partner, the United States and its allies depend on us for critical information when it matters most.

Role Description

ICEYE US is developing next-generation spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payloads and full space vehicles and is seeking a Manager, Avionics to lead the engineering team responsible for payload and vehicle-level electrical architecture, avionics systems, communications, and onboard networking. Sitting within the Space Systems engineering team, this role is the discipline that ties all payload and vehicle systems together — owning electrical interfaces, data buses, harnessing, and payload-to-bus integration across both standalone SAR payload programs and complete satellite vehicles.

The manager will absorb and institutionalize relevant historical knowledge of ICEYE's payload designs and guide the translation of that knowledge into ICEYE US products, while simultaneously building the avionics foundation to support different programs. They will serve as the primary avionics technical authority across all program lifecycle reviews and drive the team toward a verified, integrated flight article ready for environmental test and launch.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of electrical, communications, networking, and avionics architecture engineers; own hiring, onboarding, performance development, and technical career growth for direct reports.

• Own avionics subsystem program execution: work breakdown, scheduling, resource loading, risk tracking, and status reporting against program milestones (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRR).

• Set and enforce avionics engineering standards, processes, and operating framework governing how electrical systems, avionics, communications, and networking are designed, integrated, tested, and verified across the program lifecycle — including ICD management, harness design standards, test protocol formats, and integration readiness criteria.

• Serve as the avionics technical authority and primary cross-functional counterpart to systems engineering, RF, mechanical, thermal, software, and program management stakeholders.

• Own the payload electrical architecture, including power distribution, harnessing, avionics interfaces, data buses, and onboard network topology.

• Lead avionics architecture definition across products.

• Guide the team in designing and analyzing payload electrical systems to meet power, mass, thermal, EMI/EMC, and reliability requirements across the full environmental envelope.

• Guide the team in designing individual PCBA components to meet mission requirements and avionics architecture constraints per product while promoting reusability.

• Direct the development of onboard networking designs, including data routing, bandwidth allocation, latency budgets, and fault tolerance strategies.

• Coordinate with RF and software teams to align communications link performance with mission ConOps and data downlink requirements.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in spacecraft electrical design and avionics development, including full lifecycle ownership from architecture through environmental verification.

• 2+ years of direct engineering management or technical lead experience, including tasking, mentorship, and performance ownership for a multi-discipline engineering team.

• Deep background in spacecraft power systems, harnessing, avionics bus architectures, and payload-to-bus electrical integration.

• Demonstrated experience developing and owning ICDs for hardware-to-hardware and system-to-system interfaces.

• Experience in system-level integration and test, including environmental testing (vibration, TVAC, EMI/EMC).

• Experience with onboard communications and data networking architectures for spacecraft.

• Familiarity with spacecraft GNC constraints as they pertain to payload performance and electrical design.

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.

• Direct experience with SAR systems, or high-power RF/active phased array avionics.

• Experience with avionics board design, embedded systems, and FPGAs in a space or flight environment.

• Familiarity with design for test (DFT), test automation frameworks, and EGSE development.

• Experience with EMI/EMC control planning and compliance for flight hardware.

• Familiarity with NASA, DoD, or commercial space electrical design and test standards.

Pay Range and Compensation Package

· The estimated base salary range for this role is $165k - $195k depending on experience

· Other benefits include health coverage, flexible PTO, a friendly work environment, plus extra fun perks!

Physical Requirements

This position primarily works in an office environment. It requires the ability to sit or stand for long periods of time and frequent walking. Daily use of a computer, phone, office equipment and other computing and digital devices is required. Some travel may be necessary – the ability to travel by car, plane, train, bus, vessel, or metro, operate a motor vehicle and maintain a valid Driver’s License and/or effectively navigate public transportation is required.

While performing the responsibilities of the job, the employee must be able to read and respond to inter-office communications as well as effectively participate in meetings. The employee is often required to sit and use their hands or fingers, to lift up to 50 lbs., pull, push, carry, handle, or feel. The employee is required to carry, handle items, reach with arms and hands, to stoop, kneel, or crouch; talk, or hear. Mental demands may require prolonged concentration, reading comprehension, understanding and interpretation of concepts, ideas, and philosophies. The physical demands of the position described herein are essential functions of the job and employees must be able to successfully perform these tasks for extended periods. Reasonable accommodations may be made for those individuals with real or perceived disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job described unless such accommodations would cause ICEYE US an undue burden.

EEO Statement

ICEYE US is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic under federal, state, or local law.