Principal Space Payload I&T Engineer

Trident; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 101,000 - 188,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Dental

Vision

401(k) with company match

Tuition reimbursement

Paid time off

Job summary

Trident Systems in Chantilly, VA seeks a Principal Integration & Test Engineer for space payloads. You will lead hands-on work across software, firmware and electronics to integrate, debug, and verify payload systems for lab, environmental, and flight tests.

The role requires strong boundary expertise, root-cause analysis, and collaboration with software, firmware, electrical, systems, and mechanical engineers to ensure flight readiness.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical/ECE/CS/Aerospace or equivalent.
• 9+ years of related experience.
• Experience integrating and testing embedded systems, avionics, or aerospace hardware.
• Ability to debug across software, firmware, and electronics.
• Experience reading schematics, ICDs, test procedures and design docs.
• Familiarity with C/C++, Python or similar scripting for test automation.

Responsibilities

• Integrate and test space payload hardware and software in development, qualification, and flight-like configurations.
• Debug and troubleshoot issues spanning application software, embedded software, FPGA/firmware interfaces, electronics, sensors, and communication links.
• Support bring-up of payload electronics, processors, FPGAs, data interfaces, and support equipment.
• Investigate failures during integration and test using lab equipment, logs, telemetry, and software/firmware diagnostics.
• Use lab equipment such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, DMMs, protocol analyzers, and signal generators to diagnose hardware and interface issues.
• Support checkout and debugging of interfaces such as SPI, I2C, UART, RS-422/485, Ethernet, SpaceWire, CAN, and other mission-specific buses.
• Work closely with software, firmware, electrical, systems, and mechanical engineers to resolve integration issues and improve design robustness.
• Document test results, anomalies, troubleshooting steps, and corrective actions to support formal verification and flight readiness reviews.
• Assist with system-level and environmental testing, including functional test, thermal vacuum, vibration, EMI/EMC, and mission simulations.
• Contribute to development of testbeds, lab infrastructure, automated test tools, and debug processes.
• Support configuration management and ensure testing is performed against the correct hardware, firmware, and software baselines.
• Ability to support travel or off-site work, as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Embedded systems testing

Debug across software

Schematic/ICD reading

Telemetry tools

C/C++ / Python scripting

Test automation

Electrical basics

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer/Aerospace Engineering

Job description

Trident Systems in Chantilly, VA seeks a Principal Integration & Test Engineer for space payloads. You will lead hands-on work across software, firmware and electronics to integrate, debug, and verify payload systems for lab, environmental, and flight tests.

The role requires strong boundary expertise, root-cause analysis, and collaboration with software, firmware, electrical, systems, and mechanical engineers to ensure flight readiness.