Senior Avionics PCBA Development Engineer
About The Position
Relativity Space is building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. The Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Engineers solve problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Collaboration across teams, shaping decisions, and seeing work come to life in record time are key aspects of the culture. Creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and individual voices help define the stories being written together. This is a unique moment in time to leave a mark on the product, process, and culture, with Terran R tangible and gaining momentum. The Avionics team is responsible for the full lifecycle of Terran R's nervous system, designing, building, testing, installing, and operating the hardware that connects and controls every major electrical system on the vehicle and ground. The team leverages close partnership between avionics design, manufacturing, and test to enable rapid iteration and feedback loops. Engineers are deeply embedded into other functions within Relativity, working closely with propulsion, GNC, fluids, and stage engineering teams to ensure seamless integration and operation. This role offers the opportunity to shape Terran R's fundamental avionics architecture and be given a high degree of ownership on components that will fly. As the Senior Avionics PCBA Development Engineer, you are part of the Avionics Engineering team and responsible for the entire bring-up of new avionics prototypes. You'll program machines, develop processes, conduct inspections, and troubleshoot defects hands-on, while maintaining process control documentation. You'll partner with design engineers and manufacturing engineers, support DFM initiatives, realize first prototype builds, and use tools to harvest process data. You'll also bridge to the manufacturing team, supporting the handover of mature products and processes for mass production. This role combines hands-on manufacturing expertise with modern tools and automation while collaborating across engineering, design, and manufacturing teams.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, or Manufacturing Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent hands-on experience)
- 5–8 years of hands-on PCBA assembly experience in a manufacturing environment
- Proficiency with SMT equipment including solder paste printers, pick-and-place, and reflow ovens.
- Professional-grade soldering and rework skills, including component replacement, fine-pitch soldering, and BGA rework
- Strong understanding of SMT processes, common defects, and troubleshooting, including inspection methods such as visual, AOI (Automated Optical Inspection), and X-ray
- Detail-oriented, with the ability to read PCB assembly drawings, schematics, and datasheets, and comfortable building automation tools or scripts to improve data collection and analysis
Nice To Haves
- IPC-A-610 (CIS) or IPC-J-STD-001 soldering certification (highly preferred)
- Experience with low-to-mid-volume or prototype PCBA manufacturing and familiarity with aerospace/defense quality requirements (AS9100, IPC Class 3)
- Programming and scripting skills (Python, JavaScript, SQL) for tool development and data analysis, including experience integrating manufacturing equipment with data systems (MES, Jira APIs, databases) and applying AI/ML or agentic workflows in manufacturing
- Familiarity with specialized processes and handling standards—selective soldering, conformal coating, potting, ESD control, moisture-sensitivity handling, and component traceability—as well as ECAD tools such as Altium and Valor NPI
Responsibilities
- Provide DFM feedback: Review PCB designs for manufacturability and partner with hardware engineers to resolve assembly issues before builds begin
- Operate the full SMT line: Support the operation of every station on the line for Avionics prototype builds to ensure quality and process control.
- Inspect and troubleshoot: Perform first-article inspections (visual, AOI, X-ray), investigate defects such as bridging, tombstoning, and voiding, and drive corrective actions to root cause
- Program and optimize equipment: Develop programs and tune parameters, placement routines, and reflow profiles for high-reliability aerospace PCBAs
- Build and rework hardware: Support prototype and qualification builds hands-on, and perform professional-grade soldering and PCBA rework, including component replacement, BGA rework, and fine-pitch repairs
- Maintain process control documentation: Work with the team to keep work instructions, assembly drawings, inspection criteria, and process specifications current
- Develop automation tools: Build and enhance tools for machine-programming automation, data-collection pipelines, and analysis workflows that improve efficiency and reduce manual effort
Benefits
- Competitive salary and equity
- Generous PTO and sick leave policy
- Parental leave
- Annual learning and development stipend
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
