Senior Avionics Systems Engineer for Spacecraft HITL

Varda Space Industries; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 179,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible PTO

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Wellness reimbursement

Parental leave

Equity incentives

401(k) match

Relocation assistance

Cell phone reimbursement

EV charging

Job summary

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA seeks a Senior Space Systems Engineer, Avionics, to lead design, integration and testing of avionics for the Winnebago Spaceship. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure mission readiness from launch to reentry, focusing on power, telemetry, and hardware while maintaining safety and compliance.

You will build HITL testbeds, develop ground infrastructure, mentor junior engineers, and drive best practices for test automation and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience in system design, test planning, and validation.
• Proficiency in Python.
• Experience with power supplies, modular DAQ systems, RTD and 4-20mA devices, and general test equipment.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with cross functional teams to define project scopes and initial requirements, guiding designs from concept to prototype and full-scale production.
• Develop electrical architecture, system diagrams, and budgets to account for power, telemetry, channel count, size, and mass predictions used to communicate closing vehicle solutions to company level objectives.
• Analyze architecture for potential faults and risks, develop comprehensive mitigation plans, resolve uncertainties, and collaborate on Fault Detection Isolation and Recovery (FDIR) or operational workarounds when hardware solutions are unfeasible.
• Conduct comprehensive verification plans for avionics systems on flight and HITL hardware, ensuring readiness for launch and compliance with mission objectives for space and reentry operations.
• Participate in mission operations as an Avionics specialist or system operator, where they’ll determine system health, suggest corrective actions to reentry commit criteria for operational success.
• Oversee the integration of the Winnebago avionics systems, acting as the primary point of contact for integrated systems investigations.
• Design, build, and operate the Hardware In The Loop (HITL) testbeds, simulating the spacecraft on the ground to ensure all systems are mission ready.
• Develop avionics ground infrastructure, support the design and integration of test racks and R&D equipment used to power and communicate with the flight vehicles. Contribute to developing engineering best practices, focusing on increased test automation and efficiency.
• Draw from their experiences to help mentor and train new engineers, fostering a culture of learning and continuous improvement within the team.

Skills

Python

System design

Test planning

Validation

Power supplies

DAQ systems

RTD

4-20mA

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field

Tools

Unix

Job description

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA seeks a Senior Space Systems Engineer, Avionics, to lead design, integration and testing of avionics for the Winnebago Spaceship. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure mission readiness from launch to reentry, focusing on power, telemetry, and hardware while maintaining safety and compliance.

You will build HITL testbeds, develop ground infrastructure, mentor junior engineers, and drive best practices for test automation and