Principal Avionics Assurance Engineer

K2 Space•Los Angeles, CA

About The Position

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers – we’re mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space. The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today’s and tomorrow’s massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits. With multiple launches planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series C space startup, we’d love for you to apply. The Role Avionics are the nervous system of our vehicles - every signal, every board, every harness matters. We’re building a modern Quality team that partners with design, production, and suppliers to make sure these systems work flawlessly from day one. If you love solving complex electrical integrity challenges and want to influence how quality is done in a fast-moving environment, this is your chance.

Requirements

BS in Electrical, Electronics, or Aerospace Engineering (MS preferred) and experience with flight-critical avionics/electrical systems.
8+ years of experience with cross-team impact and technical direction setting.
Expertise in avionics/electronics commodities: PCBAs, LRUs, harnessing, connectors, EMI/EMC considerations.
Strong fundamentals: IPC standards (IPC-A-610, IPC/WHMA-A-620), DFMEA/PFMEA, SPC/MSA, 8D/FRACAS
Familiar with AS9100, AS9145/APQP, PPAP; comfortable in PLM/MES (e.g., Teamcenter) and Jira.

Nice To Haves

NADCAP experience for electronics processes; knowledge of environmental stress screening (ESS) and reliability testing.
Supplier development and audits for PCB and harness manufacturing; familiarity with GIDEP and DLA resources.
APQP/PPAP leadership in aerospace electronics
Launch vehicle, space systems, UAVs, or defense program experience; building quality systems in a startup (0→1).
Able to obtain a security clearance, if required.

Responsibilities

Define and translate system requirements into quality criteria for avionics including harnesses and electronic assemblies.
Review schematics, PCB layouts, and harness drawings for compliance and critical features.
Collaborate with design, test, and production teams to establish qualification, acceptance, and inspection strategies.
Ensure process capability for soldering, crimping, and assembly using PFMEA, SPC/MSA, and control plans.
Lead nonconformance management, corrective actions, and supplier quality improvements.
Assess and audit supplier capability; manage APQP/PPAP deliverables
Develop and track quality metrics and apply analytics using modern tools and automation
Support audits and continuously improve QMS while aligning with various internal and external standards like AS, NASA