Senior Avionics Electrical Engineer - Electric Propulsion

Impulsespace; Redondo Beach (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Medical, vision & dental coverage

401(k) retirement plan

Job summary

Impulse Space in Redondo Beach is seeking a Senior Avionics Electrical Engineer to own the design and test of circuit boards powering our electric propulsion system. You will work with software, propulsion, GNC, and other teams to drive hardware decisions from requirements through flight-ready hardware.

The role emphasizes hands-on development, analysis, and verification of analog and power electronics, with opportunities to mentor engineers and iterate products across lifecycles.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of professional experience developing electrical hardware.
• Demonstrate expertise in electronic component selection, analysis, simulation, schematics, and layout.
• Knowledge of analog and power circuit design including analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, op-amps, filtering, power and signal integrity, etc.
• Hands‑on experience troubleshooting complex electronics problems at the board level.
• Ability to communicate technical challenges, explain rationale and/or resolve concerns.

Responsibilities

• Independently develop and own circuit boards for spacecraft electric propulsion systems, with an emphasis on actuator drivers and/or power converters.
• Perform rigorous analyses and simulations of avionics devices and systems including subsystem and circuit-level trade studies, analyses, and simulations to support design decisions.
• Act as the Responsible Engineering authority for your hardware, owning your design from requirements definition through detailed design, board bring-up and debugging in the lab through qualification and flight operations.
• Define hardware interfaces, develop verification approaches, and ensure requirements are verified through analysis and test from system-level specifications.
• Partner with firmware, software, mechanical, manufacturing, propulsion, and test teams.
• Perform development testing of hardware in the lab, from single electrical designs to entire electrical systems.
• Conduct design reviews, technical trade studies, and root-cause investigations.
• Establish and maintain high technical standards and mentor less experienced engineers.
• Improve existing products throughout their lifecycle by troubleshooting issues, performing failure analysis of parts and systems, and implementing improvements.

Skills

Circuit design

Circuit simulation

PCB layout

Electrical troubleshooting

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

SPICE

SIMPLIS

Job description

Senior Avionics Electrical Engineer - Electric Propulsion

Department: Avionics

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Redondo Beach

Compensation: $140,000 - $180,000 / year

Description

As a Senior Avionics Electrical Engineer at Impulse, you will design and test custom circuit boards and other avionics devices that power Electra, our electric propulsion system. You will own electrical hardware designs and technical decisions, working directly with software engineers, propulsion engineers, GNC engineers, and others. You will contribute to all aspects of spacecraft electronics development, from sub-system requirements definition through circuit-board design, testing, debugging, integrating onto space vehicles, and operating in space.

Responsibilities

• Independently develop and own circuit boards for spacecraft electric propulsion systems, with an emphasis on actuator drivers and/or power converters
• Perform rigorous analyses and simulations of avionics devices and systems including subsystem and circuit-level trade studies, analyses, and simulations to support design decisions
• Act as the Responsible Engineering authority for your hardware, owning your design from requirements definition through detailed design, board bring-up and debugging in the lab through qualification and flight operations
• Define hardware interfaces, develop verification approaches, and ensure requirements are verified through analysis and test from system-level specifications
• Partner with firmware, software, mechanical, manufacturing, propulsion, and test teams
• Perform development testing of hardware in the lab, from single electrical designs to entire electrical systems
• Conduct design reviews, technical trade studies, and root-cause investigations
• Establish and maintain high technical standards and mentor less experienced engineers
• Improve existing products throughout their lifecycle by troubleshooting issues, performing failure analysis of parts and systems, and implementing improvements

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field
• 5+ years of professional experience developing electrical hardware
• Demonstrate expertise in electronic component selection, analysis, simulation, schematics, and layout
• Knowledge of analog and power circuit design including analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, op-amps, filtering, power and signal integrity, etc.
• Hands‑on experience troubleshooting complex electronics problems at the board level
• Ability to communicate technical challenges, explain rationale and/or resolve concerns

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Demonstrated experience with Altium Designer
• Demonstrated experience doing new development and hands‑on work for any of the following: power converters, analog and digital electronics, load switches, engine controllers, or any other specialized area relevant to spacecraft or rockets
• Experience with radiation‑tolerant electrical design including component selection, derating, SEE mitigation, and fault‑tolerant architecture
• Experience in a startup or agile development environment
• Experience with Spice and/or SIMPLIS simulation engines

Additional Information

Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case‑by‑case basis and may vary based on job‑related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full‑time hires, you may also be eligible for long‑term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.

Impulse Space’s spacecraft manufacturing business is subject to U.S. export regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This position requires applicants to be either U.S. Persons (i.e., U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent U.S. resident (green card holder), an individual granted asylum in the U.S., or an individual admitted in U.S. refugee status) or persons eligible to obtain an export license from the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, or other applicable U.S. government agencies. Learn more about the ITAR here.

Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.