Senior Avionics Architect — Defense Flight Systems

Castelion Corporation; Rio Rancho (NM); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Castelion Corporation seeks a Lead Avionics Engineer to define and deliver the avionics architecture for long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. You will oversee power distribution, control electronics, communications, sensors, embedded computing, and flight software to form a cohesive flight system.

You will collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to architect, integrate, test, and validate flight electronics from concept through flight test in a fast-paced, hardware-driven environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• “8+ years of experience designing and integrating avionics or other high-reliability embedded electronic systems” as applicable to aerospace/defense.
• Strong background in avionics system architecture, power distribution, communications, and embedded hardware integration.
• Experience leading the development and integration of complex avionics systems from concept to flight testing.
• Experience with schematic capture and PCB design using Altium Designer or equivalent ECAD tool(s).
• Understanding of analog/digital/power/embedded electronics design principles.
• Familiarity with aerospace interfaces and protocols (SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet, RS-422/485, LVDS).
• Experience with hardware integration, system-level debugging, and root-cause analysis in laboratory and flight-test environments.
• Knowledge of EMI/EMC, grounding, shielding, and electrical reliability for aerospace systems.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, hardware-rich environment.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain avionics system architecture for flight vehicles.
• Lead integration of avionics subsystems (flight computers, sensors, power electronics).
• Develop system-level requirements, interfaces, wiring architectures, documentation.
• Collaborate with electrical, mechanical, software, GNC, propulsion, and manufacturing teams.
• Lead hardware integration, bring-up, debugging, and flight vehicle assembly.
• Define electrical design standards and component guidelines for reliability.
• Support design reviews and technical trades to optimize performance and manufacturability.
• Develop and execute integration, qualification, and flight test plans.
• Mentor engineers across disciplines and promote best practices in avionics.
• Partner with program leadership on technical trades aligned with mission.

Skills

Avionics architecture

Embedded hardware integration

Power distribution

Schematic capture/PCB design

EMI/EMC & grounding

System-level debugging

Flight testing

Interfaces: SPI/I2C/UART/CAN

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

Job description

Castelion Corporation seeks a Lead Avionics Engineer to define and deliver the avionics architecture for long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. You will oversee power distribution, control electronics, communications, sensors, embedded computing, and flight software to form a cohesive flight system.

You will collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to architect, integrate, test, and validate flight electronics from concept through flight test in a fast-paced, hardware-driven environment.