Staff Electrical Engineer, Avionics

longshot•Alameda, CA

2d•$180,000 - $220,000•Onsite

About The Position

Longshot is hiring a Staff Electrical Engineer to own electrical engineering across the company, including its people, architecture, and hardware. The role provides technical leadership in defining system architectures and electronics platforms for high-voltage pulsed ignition, firing and sequencing control, instrumentation and data acquisition, safety interlocks, vehicle avionics and power, and test-site power. Deliverables include circuit card assemblies (CCAs), FPGA and microprocessor designs, harnesses, and the test procedures and scripts used to verify them. The electrical team is small and supports every program. The Staff Electrical Engineer will set the team's technical direction, grow the team, and serve as the accountable electrical design owner at design reviews and test readiness reviews. This is a hands-on leadership position involving schematic design and review, on-site test participation, and accountability for electrical hardware installed on the launcher. The role is onsite in Alameda, California, with 25%–30% travel for campaigns.

Requirements

BS in Electrical Engineering with at least 6 years of related work experience, an MS in a similar discipline with at least 4 years, or a PhD with at least 3 years.
Strong background in design and/or analysis of analog, digital, and power circuits in one or more of pulsed power/high-voltage systems, ignition or initiation systems, test-stand control and instrumentation, or flight avionics and power.
Experience across the full design cycle, from requirements through schematic, layout review, harness, build, test, and field support.
Command of high-energy safety practices, including energy-storage hazards, interlocks, grounding and shielding, and EMI in noisy, high-current environments.
Proven team-leadership ability to deliver project results and manage performance standards, budgets, and schedules.
Flexible and accountable, with the ability to meet commitments and produce quality products within budget through effective prioritization.
Experience with configuration-management tools such as Git or Jira.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with internal and external program leadership and team members at all levels, from technicians to customers.
Ability to write for review boards and customers and make design decisions understandable to people who were not present when they were made.
Willingness to work hands-on, onsite, and at the test stand.

Nice To Haves

Capacitor-bank, high-current-switch, or exploding-bridgewire experience.
FPGA-based embedded electronics or firmware-hardware co-design experience.
Power electronics and power-bus interface experience, including batteries, capacitor banks, or high-current DC.
High-speed data-acquisition experience with piezoelectric pressure sensors, strain sensors, accelerometers, high-speed video triggering, or NI, Dewesoft, or similar systems.
Familiarity with flight or defense hardware design flows, EEE parts control, and packaging and cabling requirements.
Experience supporting hardware integration and test, engineering and qualification units, and delivery into system-level test campaigns.
Aerospace or defense program experience and familiarity with MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-464, MIL-STD-1576, or range-safety requirements.
Hazardous-test or energetic-materials environment experience.
Prior experience as a technical lead or subject-matter expert.
Comfort working in a fast-paced, mission-focused environment and managing multiple priorities across diverse engineering teams.
Active U.S. security clearance or eligibility to obtain one.

Responsibilities

Own the electrical architecture for gun systems and test vehicles, including high-voltage pulsed-power ignition, control and sequencing, instrumentation, interlocks and abort chains, power distribution, and grounding.
Derive and document engineering requirements, specifications, and interface definition drawings for electrical assemblies.
Define and control interfaces with mechanical, software, test, and facilities teams.
Define requirements for and guide the design and implementation of FPGAs, microcontrollers, and embedded electronics for control and test systems.
Plan circuit card assembly, chassis, rack, and harness implementations, and oversee their build and delivery.
Review design analyses for accuracy and completeness and coordinate engineers into an integrated design.
Make build-versus-buy decisions and own the electrical portion of the bill of materials, schedule, and budget.
Lead, mentor, and hire electrical engineers and technicians.
Set design standards, review practices, and documentation expectations, and delegate effectively.
Lead team communication on technical issues and drive problem resolution and root-cause analysis for electrical anomalies.
Develop test and verification plans from requirements.
Plan and execute qualification and acceptance testing of electrical hardware.
Produce test procedures, results, training guides, and issue reports.
Drive safety-oriented design for high-energy systems, including energy storage, safe/arm, fault tolerance, isolation, discharge, and lockout/tagout.
Act as the electrical authority on hazard analyses and at PDR, CDR, and TRR design reviews.
Write and defend electrical sections of design, interface, and safety documentation.
Participate in developing contract technical documentation for government-funded programs.
Provide technical insight and oversight for subcontracts and key suppliers.
Design and review schematics and participate onsite in test activities.