Sr Avionics Engineer

Protingent; Shoreline (WA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Protingent Staffing seeks a Sr Avionics Engineer for high-performance aerospace hardware. You will lead avionics architecture, flight electronics design, sensor suite integration, and RF/telemetry coordination for a gun-launched vehicle.

The role covers HIL/SIL testing, 250g qualification, and flight-termination support, with hands-on lab work and documentation. The position requires deep embedded/firmware experience, strong PCB design, and experience in aerospace or defense environments.

Qualifications

• BS in Electrical, Computer, or Electronics Engineering (or related field) plus MS a plus.
• 2+ years designing and delivering electronics or avionics in aerospace, defense, or high-reliability hardware.
• Deep embedded/firmware experience with C/C++, RTOS or bare-metal, microcontrollers.

Responsibilities

• Vehicle avionics architecture from concept through CDR and qualification.
• Flight electronics for gun-launched environment with rugged packaging.
• Sensor suite design, data acquisition, and onboard data handling.
• Telemetry downlink, antenna integration, spectrum coordination & FCC/NTIA tasks.
• Power system design including gun-hardened qualification and battery selection.
• Support of FAA/AST range-safety qualification for flight-termination avionics.
• Build and own HIL/SIL test bed for avionics and GNC integration.
• Plan and run 250g in-barrel and thermal cycling tests; analyze results.
• Support ground/test campaigns with sensors and data acquisition.
• Maintain clear documentation of architecture, interfaces, and qualification.

Skills

C/C++

RTOS or bare-metal

Microcontrollers

Board bring-up

Soldering & bench debugging

Python or MATLAB

Education

BS in Electrical/Computer/Electronics Engineering

Tools

Altium

KiCad

LabVIEW

DAQ

Job description

Position Title: Sr Avionics Engineer

Position Description: Protingent Staffing has an exciting direct hire Sr Avionics Engineer opportunity.

Job Responsibilities

• Vehicle avionics architecture: Flight computer / C&DH, avionics stack selection, and downlink protocol, from concept through CDR, qualification, and flight.
• Flight electronics for a gun-launched environment: Board design, component selection, and packaging that survive in-barrel acceleration and hypersonic flight.
• The vehicle sensor suite and instrumented projectile: Sensor selection, signal conditioning, data acquisition, and onboard data handling.
• RF / TT&C / communications: Telemetry downlink, antenna integration (through the waverider geometry and plasma sheath), link-budget analysis, and FCC / NTIA spectrum coordination.
• The vehicle power system: Battery chemistry selection and gun-hardened qualification, plus power distribution and conditioning.
• Flight-termination (FTS) avionics: Support of FAA/AST range-safety qualification.
• The HIL/SIL test bed. Build and own the hardware/software-in-the-loop bench for avionics and GNC integration.
• Environmental and g-load qualification: Plan and run 250g in-barrel and thermal-cycling test campaigns; reduce and interpret the data.
• Ground and test instrumentation: Support the active test campaigns (Side Injection, Tonopah) with sensors and data acquisition.
• Technical documentation: Clear, maintained records of avionics architecture, interfaces, and qualification results.

Job Qualifications

• BS in Electrical, Computer, or Electronics Engineering (or a related field); MS a plus.
• Equivalent hands-on avionics experience will be considered.
• 2+ years designing and delivering electronics or avionics in aerospace, defense, or a comparable high-performance, high-reliability hardware environment.
• Deep embedded/firmware experience.
• C/C++, RTOS or bare-metal, microcontrollers, and board bring-up.
• Strong PCB design and layout.
• Schematic capture and multilayer board layout (Altium, KiCad, or equivalent), including design for manufacture.
• Hands-on lab proficiency.
• Soldering, harness/cabling, and bench debug with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and power supplies.

Preferred Job Qualifications

• RF, communications, or telemetry experience.
• Link-budget analysis, antenna integration, transceivers, and spectrum coordination.
• Power electronics and battery systems, including high-g or gun-hardened qualification.
• HIL/SIL test bench development Test instrumentation and data acquisition (DAQ, signal conditioning, LabVIEW or equivalent).
• High-reliability or harsh-environment electronics.
• Shock, vibration, and high-g environments or space/mil qualification (MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461).
• Flight software or GNC integration experience.
• Python or MATLAB for data reduction and test automation.

Job Details

• Job Type: Direct-Hire
• Salary Range $150K-$190K
• Location: Alameda, CA (Onsite).

ITAR obligations are associated with this role, U.S. citizenship, U.S. legal permanent resident status, or protected person status under 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a) (1), (3) is required.

About Protingent

Protingent is a niche provider of top Engineering and IT talent to Software, Electronics, Medical Device, Telecom, and Aerospace companies nationwide. Protingent exists to make a positive impact and contribution to the lives of others as well as our community by providing relevant, rewarding, and exciting work opportunities for our candidates.