Manager, Avionics Rapid Prototyping

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA

About The Position

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known. Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us. About the Team: As the Manager of Avionics Electrical Test Engineering, you will lead a team responsible for developing and scaling Relativity’s electrical hardware and system test capabilities. You will oversee PCBA bring‑up and debugging, integrated avionics system testing, and the development of automated test solutions for power electronics, low‑voltage systems, digital/mixed‑signal assemblies, and flight-critical avionics. This role requires a strong technical foundation in electrical engineering, hands-on lab expertise, and experience managing test teams in fast-paced development environments. You will partner across Avionics Hardware, Power Systems, GNC, Manufacturing, and Vehicle Integration to define test strategies, drive test automation, and ensure robust electrical system validation throughout the program lifecycle.

Requirements

PhD or M.S. in Electrical Engineering (or B.S. with exceptional relevant experience)
Extensive experience in PCBA bring‑up, debugging, validation, and electrical system troubleshooting
Strong background in system‑level testing of complex electrical systems (avionics, inverters, OBCs, DC‑DC converters, power distribution, etc.)
Deep knowledge of power electronics and low-voltage hardware used in mission‑critical environments
Proficient with electrical lab and measurement equipment and comfortable developing test infrastructure
3+ years leading electrical test engineering teams, including development of engineers’ technical and leadership skills

Nice To Haves

Experience developing automated test systems, HIL rigs, or scripted test frameworks
Familiarity with environmental testing (thermal, vibe, TVAC, HALT/HASS)
Knowledge of EMC, power quality, or hardware reliability testing methodologies
Experience collaborating with design teams to implement DfT and DfR (Design for Reliability)

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and grow a team of electrical test engineers responsible for PCBA bring-up, integrated system test, and automated test development
Define and drive test strategies for power electronics, low-voltage avionics, digital and mixed-signal hardware, and multi-box integrated systems
Develop automated test infrastructure, scripted test frameworks, data capture, and automated result analysis
Oversee board-level and system-level validation including functional, performance, environmental, and fault-injection testing
Drive root-cause analysis and corrective action efforts across electrical components and integrated avionics systems
Partner with hardware design teams to ensure design-for-testability and influence architecture with early test insights
Maintain a safe, high-quality lab environment including calibration, equipment readiness, and robust test processes
Manage scheduling, resource planning, and cross-functional alignment to support aggressive development and flight milestones
Champion continuous improvement of test methods, automation, documentation, and data-driven decision making