Director of Avionics Hardware Development

Varda Space Industries • El Segundo, CA

7d • $192,500 - $245,971 • Onsite

About The Position

As Director of Avionics Hardware Development, you will own all electrical hardware design, build, and test across every avionics subsystem - RF, Power, GNC, Compute, and I/O - for Varda's satellite bus, reentry capsule, and pharmaceutical payloads. You will lead a multi-disciplinary team of engineers through the full product lifecycle: from feasibility and architecture through prototype development, qualification, manufacturing, and flight. This is a hands-on leadership role where your technical judgment and strategic decision-making directly determine mission success.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field
• 10+ years of experience developing electronic hardware for mission-critical applications in harsh environments (space, aviation, defense, or robotics)
• Demonstrated experience leading and managing multi-disciplinary hardware engineering teams (5+ direct/indirect reports)
• Deep technical fluency across at least three of: power electronics, compute, RF, mixed-signal design, or GNC sensor and actuators
• Track record driving hardware through the full product lifecycle - from requirements and architecture through qualification, manufacturing, and operations
• Experience with environmental test campaigns (thermal cycling, TVAC, vibe, shock, EMI/EMC) and space qualification standards
• Must be a U.S. person (U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))

Nice To Haves

• Experience at a high-cadence aerospace organization
• Hands-on experience with spacecraft avionics systems - flight computers, power distribution, RF communications, GPS, IMUs, reaction wheels, or similar
• Experience scaling a hardware team or product line from prototype to production volumes

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end avionics hardware development program across all subsystems (RF, power electronics, digital/compute, GNC sensors and actuators, I/O, and harnessing)
• Drive hardware from concept through schematic and layout review, prototyping, environmental qualification (thermal, vibe, shock, TVAC, EMI), and flight acceptance
• Define the hardware and technology roadmap - maximize reuse, drive common circuit implementations across subsystems, and increase development speed through simplification
• Establish and enforce design rules, review gates, and development processes that ensure consistency and quality as the team and mission cadence scale
• Collaborate cross-functionally with flight software, GNC, structures, thermal, integration & test, and mission operations to define system architecture and resolve interface challenges
• Anchor hardware designs to derived requirements and engineering objectives, perform trades and analyses (link budgets, power models, EMC assessments) to retire risk early
• Hit Varda production milestones to maintain and increase mission cadence
• Build and advocate for infrastructure to support environmental testing, component qualification, and manufacturing at scale
• Develop robust work instructions, test software suites, and reliable test execution to transition designs from development to repeatable, high-rate production
• Grow and lead the avionics hardware team - recruit top talent, set team structure, and allocate resources to meet company objectives
• Mentor engineers at all levels, investing in their technical development and career growth
• Foster a collaborative, high-ownership culture where engineers operate with autonomy and urgency

Benefits

• Equity in a fully funded space startup with potential for significant growth (interns excluded)
• 401(k) matching (interns excluded)
• Unlimited PTO (interns excluded)
• Health insurance, including Vision and Dental
• Lunch and snacks provided on site every day. Dinners provided twice a week.
• Maternity / Paternity leave (interns excluded)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director