Senior Avionics Architect - Space Systems

Rocket Lab Corp.; Tucson, Northern (AZ, KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Tucson, AZ, is seeking a Principal Electrical Engineer to lead avionics hardware development for advanced electro-optical systems. You will drive system architecture, oversee FPGA- and MCU-based designs, and mentor engineering teams across life-cycle stages.

This role requires extensive PCBA expertise, space-grade design experience, and the ability to operate in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment with a focus on reliability and security standards.

Qualifications

• Master’s in electrical engineering or related field (or equivalent advanced experience).
• 12+ years of progressive electrical hardware design experience in aerospace/high-reliability industries with leadership on complex programs.
• Proven ability to architect and deliver innovative mission-critical designs for aerospace systems.
• Extensive PCBA design experience with high-speed digital and mixed-signal circuits (FPGA/ASIC/microcontrollers).
• Deep expertise in FPGA architecture and embedded software for ARM-based systems.
• Deep system-level integration of processors, FPGAs, power supplies, high-speed interfaces, and precision analog instrumentation.
• Strong analog electronics design for high-performance, low-noise aerospace applications.
• Experience with SPICE/MATLAB and industry-standard tools for circuit analysis.
• Experience designing electronics for space environments with radiation mitigation knowledge.
• Leadership in PCBA verification, validation, and flight-hardware qualification.
• Hands-on prototyping and lab instrumentation for complex bring-up.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for the full lifecycle of avionics hardware for advanced EO systems.
• Drive system architecture and roadmaps for EO sensors across orbital domains.
• Oversee design and integration of complex electronics (FPGA, MCU, ADC/DAC, VPX) at system and module levels.
• Architect and review payload-level designs, mentoring engineering teams and ensuring standards and security compliance.
• Establish standards for schematic capture and PCBA layout in Altium Designer; drive design reviews for quality and reliability.

Skills

Avionics hardware design

FPGA architecture

Embedded software development

System-level integration

PCBA design

High-reliability aerospace

Radiation effects mitigation

Leadership / mentorship

Verification & validation

Supplier relationships

Education

Master's in electrical engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

SPICE

MATLAB

Job description

Rocket Lab in Tucson, AZ, is seeking a Principal Electrical Engineer to lead avionics hardware development for advanced electro-optical systems. You will drive system architecture, oversee FPGA- and MCU-based designs, and mentor engineering teams across life-cycle stages.

This role requires extensive PCBA expertise, space-grade design experience, and the ability to operate in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment with a focus on reliability and security standards.