Senior Systems Engineer – Space Payloads & Electrical

Rocket Lab; Tucson (AZ); On-site; USD 160,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab Optical Systems in Tucson, AZ is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to drive system architecture for space-based optical instruments and payloads, collaborating across hardware, software, firmware, and test teams.

You will define requirements, develop documentation, support verification and validation, and lead trade studies on sensors, power, data handling, and controls, with travel as needed.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated systems engineering experience with emphasis on electrical architecture, subsystem integration, and controls focused development.
• Strong background in electrical interfaces, control functions, avionics integration, or subsystem architecture.
• Experience developing system requirements, interface definitions, and verification approaches for complex systems.

Responsibilities

• Support development of system architecture for space-based optical instruments, subsystems, and payloads on airborne and space platforms, with emphasis on electrical architecture and controls integration.
• Define, decompose, and manage system requirements with focus on electrical behavior, control functions, subsystem interactions, and overall system performance.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation including architecture descriptions, interface control documents, electrical interface definitions, concepts of operations, state and mode descriptions, test plans, and verification artifacts.
• Support development of electrical and functional architectures, including command and telemetry flow, power distribution, control logic, signal paths, timing, synchronization, and subsystem interaction.

Skills

Electrical architecture

Systems engineering

Aerospace engineering

Requirements management

Documentation

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in electrical, systems, or aerospace engineering

Tools

JAMA

DOORS

Cameo

Job description

Rocket Lab Optical Systems in Tucson, AZ is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to drive system architecture for space-based optical instruments and payloads, collaborating across hardware, software, firmware, and test teams.

You will define requirements, develop documentation, support verification and validation, and lead trade studies on sensors, power, data handling, and controls, with travel as needed.