System Hardware Engineer (Autonomous Flight Termination)

STEM Boomerang; Rio Rancho (NM); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee equity

Paid time off (4 weeks)

Medical plans (100% employee Covered)

Dental & Vision coverage

FSA/HSA options

401k retirement plan

Paid parental leave

Meals & catering

Snacks & beverages

Fitness stipend

EV charging on-site

Job summary

Castelion is seeking a Senior Autonomous Flight Termination System (AFTS) Hardware Engineer in Rio Rancho to design high-reliability flight safety electronics for long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. You will lead hardware development, testing, and integration of ESADs and firing architectures in a fast-paced, hardware-driven setting.

The role requires advanced training in electrical engineering and 5+ years in pulsed power or firing system electronics, with a focus on safety-critical

Qualifications

• BS/MS/PhD in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years designing and validating pulsed power, high-voltage, or firing system electronics for aerospace/defense.
• Experience with ESADs or safety-critical hardware.

Responsibilities

• Design and deliver high-reliability flight safety electronics for AFTS hardware.
• Build, test, and validate pulsed power electronics and firing systems.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to implement safe-and-arm architectures.
• Ensure EMI/EMC, thermal, and fault-tolerant performance in extreme environments.

Skills

Pulsed power design

High-voltage systems

ESADs

Circuit design

Fault-tolerant design

EMI/EMC

Education

Bachelor's / Master’s / PhD in Electrical Engineering

Tools

SPICE

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

System Hardware Engineer (Autonomous Flight Termination)

Rio Rancho, United States | Posted on 08/06/2026

Castelion was founded to restore America's ability to field advanced weapons at speed and scale. Inspired by the engineering urgency of the WWII and Apollo eras, we combine rapid iteration, vertical integration, and scalable manufacturing to deliver affordable, high-performance strike systems. Our mission: rebuild industrial agility to strengthen national security and outpace evolving threats.

About the Role:

We are seeking a Senior Autonomous Flight Termination System (AFTS) Hardware Engineer to design and deliver high-reliability flight safety electronics for Castelion's long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. This role is critical to ensuring safe, deterministic vehicle termination through robust, fault-tolerant hardware. You will work hands-on with multidisciplinary engineering teams to design, build, test, and validate pulsed power electronics and firing systems, with a focus on electronic safe and arm devices (ESADs) and related architectures in a fast-paced, hardware-driven environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Electrical Engineering or related field
  
• 5+ years of experience designing and validating pulsed power, high-voltage, or firing system electronics for aerospace, defense, or similar high-reliability applications
  
• Strong background in energy storage, high-speed/high-current switching, and pulsed power circuit design
  
• Experience with electronic safe and arm devices (ESADs), initiation systems, or similar safety-critical hardware
  
• Proficiency in circuit design, simulation, and analysis tools (e.g., SPICE, MATLAB/Simulink, or equivalent)
  
• Experience with hardware bring-up, environmental testing, and troubleshooting in a lab or flight hardware environment
  
• Familiarity with system safety, redundancy, and fault-tolerant design principles for mission-critical systems
  

Experience designing for EMI/EMC, thermal performance, and operation in extreme environments.

Strong problem-solving mindset, thriving in a fast-paced, hardware-rich, high flight cadence environment

• Employee Equity: Meaningful equity forall full-time employees - share value has increased 150x in three years
  
• Personal Time Off: Four (4) weeks of paidtime off to unplug, reset, and come back sharp - velocity matters,burnout doesn't
  
• Medical: We offer plans at 100% employeecovered and 80% of dependent coverage
  
• Dental & Vision: We cover 90%employees and 80% for dependents to ensure you and your family haveaccess to quality preventive and ongoing care
  
• FSA/HSA: To support long-term health andfinancial resilience, we offer FSA and HSA options that allowemployees to set aside pre-tax dollars for eligible medical anddependent care expenses
  
• Retirement: 401k plan offered to supportlong term financial growth along side high-impact, high-velocity work
  
• Paid Parental Leave: We support growingfamilies with meaningful time to bond and recover. Birthing parentsare eligible for up to 10 weeks of paid leave, while non-birthingparents may take up to 4 weeks of paid leave. This time can be usedfor pre-natal care, pregnancy, childbirth, and related medicalneeds - ensuring every parent has the support they need during thisimportant life moment.8-weeks of paid parental leave for allparents. Additional paid pregnancy leave for CA employees
  
• Meals & Catering: Frequently cateredlunches and team meals, plus company-covered meals when extra timeor effort is required
  
• Snacks & Beverages: Fully stockedkitchen with unlimited snacks and drinks to keep you fueledthroughout the day
  
• Performance & Fitness: $100 monthlyfitness stipend to support peak performance and health, both insideand outside of work
  
• EV Charging: Onsite electric vehiclecharging available for employees