Principal Avionics Engineer (Space Vehicles)

EVONA; California; On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Relocation assistance

Competitive base salary

Job summary

EVONA in Denver, CO or Los Angeles (South Bay), CA is seeking a senior avionics engineer to define and own a modular product line for flight computing, C&D, power distribution and payload interfaces.

You will lead architecture from trade study through qualification and flight, hire and grow the avionics team, and stay hands-on with schematics, PCB layout and debugging while ensuring radiation, EMI/EMC and environmental qualifications.

Qualifications

• 12+ years designing avionics or high‑reliability electronics.
• Experience with spacecraft or launch vehicle programs.
• Architected avionics systems through qualification and flight.
• Hands‑on with schematics, PCB, bring‑up and debug.
• Knowledge of radiation, thermal, vacuum and EMI/EMC effects.

Responsibilities

• Define avionics architecture across modules for flight systems.
• Lead interfaces and standards (SpaceWire, Ethernet, CAN, LVDS).
• Own testbeds, flatsats and HIL/SIL environments.
• Drive environmental qualification (TVAC, vibe, EMI/EMC).
• Build and grow the avionics team.

Skills

Avionics architecture

Schematics & PCB

Radiation/EMC effects

System-level qualification

Flight computing experience

Leadership hiring

Tools

Altium

Job description

Denver, CO or Los Angeles (South Bay), CA | Full-time | Onsite

A growth-stage satellite company is bringing its avionics in-house and needs the engineer who will define the product line it builds on.

You’ll architect and own a modular, reusable avionics product line deployed across spacecraft buses, hosted payloads and mission systems: flight computing, C&D, power distribution and control, spacecraft networking and payload interfaces. You’ll take it from trade study through schematic, PCB, bring‑up, qualification and flight, then into repeatable production. You’ll set the technical standard, build the team around you, and still be in the lab when the hardware needs it.

What you’ll own

• Avionics architecture: processors, FPGA/SoC, memory, redundancy and fault tolerance by mission class and radiation environment
• Interface standards across modules and customer payloads (SpaceWire, Ethernet, CAN, RS-422, LVDS and more)
• Analog, digital, mixed‑signal and power electronics design leadership
• Parts and radiation strategy: rad-hard, rad-tolerant and screened COTS
• Testbeds, flatsats and HIL/SIL environments
• Environmental qualification: TVAC, vibe, shock, EMI/EMC
• Make/buy decisions, and design for manufacture and test at rate
• Hiring and growing the avionics team

What we’re looking for

• 12+ years designing and delivering avionics or high‑reliability electronics, with significant spacecraft or launch vehicle time
• You have architected avionics systems, not just individual boards, through qualification and flight
• Deep flight computing and C&D experience
• Still hands‑on with schematics, PCB, derating, bring‑up and debug
• Working knowledge of radiation, thermal, vacuum and EMI/EMC effects on electronics
• U.S. person (ITAR); able to obtain a U.S. security clearance

Nice to have

• A modular or product‑line avionics architecture reused across vehicles
• Spacecraft power systems: PDUs, battery and solar array management
• Proliferated LEO, SDA, DoD or commercial programs
• Taking avionics into rate production at a startupAltium

Package: competitive base/bonus + equity. Relocation available.