Senior Avionics Hardware Lead – Space Systems

Rocket Lab USA; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 173,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab Optical Systems in Chantilly, VA seeks a Principal Electrical Engineer to lead avionics hardware development for advanced EO systems. You will guide design from requirements to production and mentor teams.

The role requires 12+ years of aerospace hardware experience, FPGA/embedded expertise, and radiation-hard design knowledge. Base pay ranges from $173,300 to $259,850 with incentives and benefits.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in electrical engineering or related field.
• 12+ years of progressive electrical hardware design experience in aerospace or related high-reliability industries.
• Proven ability to architect and deliver innovative aerospace hardware designs.
• Extensive experience with FPGA, ASICs, and microcontrollers.
• Deep expertise in radiation effects (SEU/SEL) and mitigation.

Responsibilities

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

Skills

FPGA architecture

Embedded software

System-level integration

Analog electronics design

Circuit analysis & simulation

Radiation effects mitigation

PCBA verification

Lab instrumentation

Education

Master's degree in electrical engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

SPICE

MATLAB

Job description

Rocket Lab Optical Systems in Chantilly, VA seeks a Principal Electrical Engineer to lead avionics hardware development for advanced EO systems. You will guide design from requirements to production and mentor teams.

The role requires 12+ years of aerospace hardware experience, FPGA/embedded expertise, and radiation-hard design knowledge. Base pay ranges from $173,300 to $259,850 with incentives and benefits.