Principal Spacecraft Avionics Hardware Development Engineer

Varda Space•El Segundo, CA

1d•$181,913 - $262,763•Onsite

About The Position

Varda is developing commercial space infrastructure, including in-orbit pharmaceutical processing and reentry capsules. The company designs, builds, and operates its W-Series vehicles in-house, including payloads, capsules, heat shields, and satellite buses. Varda is headquartered in El Segundo, California, with additional offices in Washington, DC, and Huntsville, Alabama. As a Principal Spacecraft Avionics Hardware Engineer, you will architect and design flight-critical electrical hardware for satellite buses, reentry vehicles, and customer payloads. This includes flight computers, satellite power systems, and sensors for navigation and pharmaceutical manufacturing. You will translate mission and company objectives into subsystem requirements, design hardware to meet them, and ensure manufactured systems comply. You will also define safe operating criteria and advise mission operations on risks associated with operating near those limits. The role covers electronics design throughout the product lifecycle, avionics architecture, qualification and acceptance testing, vehicle-level integration, and failure analysis. You will collaborate with software, thermal, GNC, structures, test, pharmaceutical, mission operations, and integration teams, and mentor junior engineers. The position is on-site in El Segundo, California, and requires U.S.-person status because the role provides access to export-controlled items. Salary range is $181,913–$262,763 per year. The role is eligible for long-term incentives in the form of stock options and/or long-term cash awards.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
At least 8 years of direct experience designing electronics hardware—including schematic capture, PCB layout, board bring-up, and environmental qualification—for aerospace, automotive, or another high-reliability industry.
At least 3 years of experience working directly on hardware for space applications.
Demonstrated experience owning the architecture and implementation of complex electronics systems from design through production or deployment.
Advanced PCB design expertise, including knowledge of high-speed signal integrity, power and grounding, and electromagnetic compatibility.
Experience taking complex PCB designs through fabrication and assembly.
Expertise with Altium and/or KiCad EDA suites.
Hands-on laboratory experience using electronic test equipment, including oscilloscopes, function generators, benchtop digital multimeters, and power supplies.
Experience programming in Python, MATLAB, or another scripting or data-analysis language.
Demonstrated experience implementing hardware for multiple onboard and over-harness communication protocols, such as SPI, RS422, and 1000BASE-T.
Experience designing analog and digital filtering and mixed-signal circuits.
Power electronics design experience, including load switches and switch-mode DC:DC converters.
Understanding of aerospace sensor and actuator technologies, including RTDs, pressure transducers, brushless motors, solenoid valves, thermocouples, stepper motors, and rotary or linear encoders.
Must qualify as a U.S. person permitted to access the role’s export-controlled technology without an export license.

Nice To Haves

Industry-leading electronic circuit design and analysis skills.
Strong general knowledge of physics, mathematics, and chemistry fundamentals relevant to designing electronics for unique environments.

Responsibilities

Design PCB-level electronics throughout the lifecycle, including schematic capture, layout, design validation, fabrication and assembly, and manufacturing test.
Contribute to avionics architecture and system design for next-generation vehicles and hardware upgrades to existing vehicles.
Help define electrical engineering standards, processes, and procedures.
Translate company and mission objectives into subsystem requirements, designs, and development milestones.
Serve as an avionics subject matter expert for satellite, reentry vehicle, and payload hardware.
Support teams that use the hardware, including GNC, pharmaceutical, mission operations, and integration teams.
Collaborate with flight software, thermal, GNC, structures, and other cross-functional teams to assess vehicle-level impacts of design decisions.
Own product acceptance and qualification testing for space environments, including thermal, vibration, shock, TVAC, and EMI testing, with support from the Avionics Test team.
Provide direction on system-level integration test plans to verify hardware performance at the vehicle level.
Perform root cause analysis of test failures and implement comprehensive mitigation strategies for flight risks.
Mentor junior engineers on projects, challenges, and design methodologies.