Staff/ Principal Avionics Engineer

Portal Space Systems • Bothell, WA

9d • $165,000 - $235,000

About The Position

The Staff / Principal Avionics Engineer is the technical lead and responsible engineer for the avionics subsystem across the full product lifecycle, from concept through qualification, integration, launch, and on-orbit operations. The role owns the flight computer, command and data handling, data bus networks, and electrical power system electronics, and implements a modernized, software-defined, Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA)–compliant avionics architecture based on Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) principles. This is an individual contributor role working closely with flight software, GNC, systems engineering, and mechanical engineering.

Portal Space Systems designs spacecraft for in-space mobility and is headquartered in Bothell, Washington. The company emphasizes bold engineering, fast iteration, and small teams. The position may involve access to ITAR-controlled technical data and defense-related materials. Candidates must qualify as U.S. persons to access these items; employment is contingent on verification of ITAR eligibility and, where applicable, export authorization or a license.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in spacecraft or high-reliability aerospace electronics development.
• Experience as technical lead for an avionics subsystem through flight or qualification.
• Experience designing embedded processor boards (microcontrollers, SoCs, or FPGAs) from schematic through bring-up.
• Experience with spacecraft power systems, including DC/DC conversion, point-of-load regulation, and distribution.
• Experience with spacecraft data interfaces such as SpaceWire, Ethernet, CAN, RS-422/485, or I2C/SPI.
• Knowledge of radiation effects (TID, SEE, latch-up) and mitigation for rad-hard, rad-tolerant, and consumer COTS components, including part screening, shielding, current-limiting and latch-up protection, and error detection and correction.
• Experience with environmental qualification and system-level integration and test.
• Demonstrated experience leading the full development lifecycle of an avionics subsystem on at least one flight program.
• Strong technical judgment in electrical design trades, power budgeting, signal and power integrity, grounding and bonding, EMI/EMC, and component selection.
• Ability to architect modular, software-defined avionics with standardized hardware interfaces and partitioned computing resources.
• Ability to decompose complex, loosely defined work into clear tasks that can be executed personally or delegated.
• Ability to provide technical direction, resolve technical conflicts, and influence decisions across disciplines without direct authority.
• Clear written and verbal communication for design reviews, anomaly investigations, test readiness reviews, and program-level technical discussions.

Nice To Haves

• Master's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering.
• Experience with IMA architectures, including time and space partitioning (e.g., ARINC 653) and hypervisor-based computing platforms.
• Experience with software-defined hardware, such as reconfigurable FPGAs and in-flight reprogramming.
• Experience applying MOSA, SOSA, SpaceVPX (VITA 78), or OpenVPX (VITA 65) standards.
• Experience planning and conducting radiation testing of COTS components (heavy ion, proton, and TID).
• Experience with fault-tolerant computing, including redundancy, watchdogs, and EDAC.
• Familiarity with NASA-STD-8739, IPC-6012 Class 3/3A, and GSFC-STD-7000 (GEVS).
• Experience with FPGA development (VHDL/Verilog).
• Proficiency with Altium or Cadence and circuit simulation (SPICE).

Responsibilities

• Define and own the avionics architecture as a software-defined Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) platform with MOSA-compliant modular hardware and standardized interfaces.
• Own flight computer and command and data handling (C&DH) design, including processors, FPGAs, memory, storage, and fault tolerance.
• Define onboard data networks and interfaces, including data bus architecture, time distribution, sensor and actuator I/O, and payload interfaces.
• Own electrical power system electronics, including solar array regulation, battery management, power distribution and switching, point-of-load regulation, and fault protection.
• Partner with flight software on hardware/software partitioning, hardware abstraction, and resource allocation for the software-defined platform.
• Own avionics reliability and radiation analysis, including part selection, derating, worst-case analysis, FMEA, and COTS radiation mitigation.
• Set electronic design standards and lead schematic and PCB design reviews for reliability, manufacturability, and EMI/EMC.
• Lead avionics design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR) and own avionics requirements, specifications, and interface control documents.
• Define and execute avionics verification and qualification, including environmental testing, electrical ground support equipment, FlatSat, and hardware-in-the-loop testbeds.
• Provide hands-on support for integration and test, launch operations, and on-orbit anomaly resolution.
• Manage avionics component and board-level suppliers.
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to avionics engineers.

Benefits

• Potential eligibility for long-term incentives in the form of company equity and potential bonuses.
• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage.
• Access to a 401(k) retirement plan.
• Paid parental leave.
• May accrue three weeks of paid vacation.
• 12 or more paid holidays per year.
• Sick time.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior