Senior Avionics Systems Engineer, Spacecraft & Reentry

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

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) plan with employer match

Relocation assistance

Stock options

Job summary

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA seeks a Senior Systems Engineer, Avionics, to lead the design, integration, and test of avionics for the Winnebago Spaceship. You’ll ensure readiness for launch, collaborate across teams, and drive robust verification and mission operations expertise.

The role emphasizes hands-on HITL testing, hardware-in-the-loop development, and mentoring junior engineers within a fast-paced space startup environment.

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 programming and debugging with 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 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 programming

Avionics design

Electrical architecture

System verification

Test planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Tools

HITL testbeds

DAQ systems

Unix

FPGA

Job description

Varda Space Industries in El Segundo, CA seeks a Senior Systems Engineer, Avionics, to lead the design, integration, and test of avionics for the Winnebago Spaceship. You’ll ensure readiness for launch, collaborate across teams, and drive robust verification and mission operations expertise.

The role emphasizes hands-on HITL testing, hardware-in-the-loop development, and mentoring junior engineers within a fast-paced space startup environment.