Senior Avionics Systems Engineer — Spacecraft & HITL Lead

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

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Long-term cash awards

Relocation support

Job summary

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA is seeking a Senior Avionics Systems Engineer to lead the design, integration, and testing of avionics for the Winnebago Spaceship. You will collaborate with multiple engineering teams to ensure readiness for launch and reentry, from architecture to verification and mission operations.

The role requires 5+ years in system design, proficiency in Python, and hands-on experience with power systems and hitl testbeds.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related technical field.
• Experience: 5+ years of experience in system design, test planning, and validation.
• Programming: Proficiency in Python.

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 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

Electrical engineering fundamentals

Education

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

Tools

Power supplies

Modular DAQ systems

RTD and 4-20mA devices

General test equipment

Job description

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA is seeking a Senior Avionics Systems Engineer to lead the design, integration, and testing of avionics for the Winnebago Spaceship. You will collaborate with multiple engineering teams to ensure readiness for launch and reentry, from architecture to verification and mission operations.

The role requires 5+ years in system design, proficiency in Python, and hands-on experience with power systems and hitl testbeds.