Senior Spacecraft Avionics Hardware Architect

Telemetry Today LLC; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 182,000 - 263,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Long-term incentives

Job summary

Varda Space Industries, Inc. is seeking a Principal Spacecraft Avionics Hardware Engineer in El Segundo. You will architect and design flight-critical electrical hardware for satellite buses, reentry vehicles, and payloads.

Lead subsystem requirements, ensure safety margins, and support mission operations with cross-functional teams. You will push hardware to its limits, define operating criteria, and mentor junior engineers while collaborating with flight software, thermal, GNC, and structures

Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical or Computer Engineering or related engineering discipline.
• 8+ years designing electronics hardware including schematic capture, PCB layout, bring-up, and environmental qualification in high-reliability industries.
• 3+ years on hardware for space applications and ownership of architecture from design to deployment.
• Advanced PCB design with high speed signals, power, grounding, and EMI considerations.
• Experience taking PCB designs through fabrication and assembly; Altium or KiCad expertise.
• Hands-on lab experience with test equipment and scripting in Python or MATLAB.
• Experience with onboard and harness communications protocols (SPI, RS422, 1000BASE-T).
• Knowledge of analog/digital filtering and mixed-signal circuits; power electronics and aerospace sensors/actuators.

Responsibilities

• PCB level electronics design through lifecycle stages from schematic to testing.
• Contribute to avionics architecture and system design for next-generation vehicles.
• Define standards and procedures for electrical engineering at Varda.
• Translate mission objectives into subsystem requirements and milestones.
• Act as avionics SME for satellite, reentry vehicle, and payload hardware.
• Collaborate with flight software, thermal, GNC, and structures teams on cross-vehicle impacts.
• Own product acceptance and qualification testing for space environments with AV Test support.
• Provide direction on integration test plans at vehicle level.
• Perform root cause analysis on test failures and mitigate flight risks.
• Mentor junior engineers and set a high bar for future leaders.

Skills

PCB design

Schematic capture

Altium and/or KiCad

High speed signal integrity

Environmental qualification

Python/MATLAB scripting

Space hardware experience

Electrical hardware ownership

Hardware integration testing

GNC/mission ops collaboration

Education

B.S. in Electrical or Computer Engineering

Tools

Altium

KiCad

Oscilloscopes

Function generators

DMMs and power supplies

Job description

Varda Space Industries, Inc. is seeking a Principal Spacecraft Avionics Hardware Engineer in El Segundo. You will architect and design flight-critical electrical hardware for satellite buses, reentry vehicles, and payloads.

Lead subsystem requirements, ensure safety margins, and support mission operations with cross-functional teams. You will push hardware to its limits, define operating criteria, and mentor junior engineers while collaborating with flight software, thermal, GNC, and structures