Senior Avionics Engineer

Karman+ - Launching the Regolith Age; Broomfield (CO); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Karman+ is building vehicles for beyond Earth orbit. This role leads the development of the spacecraft's flight computer system, focusing on reliability and performance for data handling, guidance, and control.

You will collaborate with senior engineers, develop requirements, and drive the lifecycle from concept to flight-readiness while mitigating risks and supporting integration and testing.

Qualifications

• Experience in avionics/electronics for space hardware and flight computer design.
• Hands-on integration, testing, and debugging of flight computer systems.
• Ability to work with CAD/models and test lab environments.
• Excellent communication to diverse stakeholders.
• Willingness to follow build-and-break design cycles.
• Motivation to contribute to an elite team.

Responsibilities

• Drive design, integration, testing, and deployment of the flight computer system (data handling, guidance, control).
• Develop and refine requirements for the flight computer and navigation computer.
• Contribute to all phases of the flight computer lifecycle from concept to flight-readiness.
• Collaborate with senior engineers on system architecture and interfaces.
• Troubleshoot and resolve hardware/software issues during integration and testing.
• Assist procurement by evaluating off-the-shelf components and custom hardware.
• Identify and mitigate risks related to the flight computer system.

Skills

Avionics engineering

CAD & modeling

Space hardware experience

Excellent communicator

Build-break mindset

Elite team mindset

Job description

Karman+ is building vehicles for beyond Earth orbit. Your role is to drive the development of core compute architectures for a deep space vehicle. Leveraging your expertise you will determine architectures and hardware solutions that meet our mission’s needs, for reliability, and performance.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive the design, development, integration, testing, and deployment of the spacecraft’s flight computer system, focusing on functions such as data handling, guidance, and control.


• Develop and refine requirements for the flight computer and navigation computer.


• Contribute to all phases of the flight computer lifecycle, from concept to flight-readiness and post-deployment support, ensuring reliability and mission success.


• Collaborate with senior engineers to make technical decisions on system architecture, hardware/software interfaces, and design trade-offs that meet mission requirements.


• Troubleshoot and resolve hardware and software issues during integration and testing, maintaining hands-on involvement to ensure quality and functionality.


• Assist in the procurement process by supporting evaluations of off-the-shelf components and custom hardware, working with vendors to ensure compliance with mission requirements.


• Help identify and mitigate risks related to the flight computer system, contributing to regular risk assessments and implementing mitigation strategies as directed.

What You Bring

• Experience in avionics or electronics engineering for space hardware, with hands-on experience designing, integrating, and testing flight computer systems.


• Strong problem-solving skills—you’re as comfortable working with CAD and models as you are in a test lab debugging system-level issues.


• Experience designing resilient microcontrollers and system on module compute platforms for space vehicles.


• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey complex avionics topics to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.


• A desire to keep design cycles tight, by following a build and break philosophy.


• Motivation to challenge the status quo, and be an integral part of an elite team.