Electrical Engineer - Build the avionics behind a new class of interceptor systems
Hawthorne, California | On-site
Opportunity Summary
Join a recently funded seed-stage defense technology startup developing a new class of low-cost interceptor systems for emerging airborne threats. The company has already designed, built, and demonstrated working hardware with military users and is now expanding its engineering team as it moves from early demonstrations toward deployable systems and higher-rate production. As an Electrical Engineer, you will take real ownership of the vehicle's electrical and avionics hardware, from schematic and board design through bring-up, integration, testing, and flight. This is an early-career role on a small team: you will design and debug hardware yourself, work closely with experienced engineers, and see your boards fly on real vehicles.
About Us
We are a seed-stage defense technology company building compact interceptor systems designed to address the growing challenge of low-cost, high-volume airborne threats. Rather than adapting expensive legacy architectures, the team is developing purpose-built vehicles around speed, maneuverability, manufacturing simplicity, and significantly better cost per engagement. The company has completed successful customer demonstrations, recently secured additional funding, and is growing the core engineering team with motivated early-career engineers who want to learn fast and take on responsibility.
Job Duties
- Design vehicle avionics and electrical hardware, from schematic capture and PCB layout through bring-up, testing, and flight
- Develop power distribution, power conversion, battery management, and motor or actuator drive electronics
- Integrate flight computers, sensors, communications hardware, and actuators into the vehicle's electrical system
- Design and build harnesses, connectors, and cable assemblies
- Bring up and debug boards in the lab using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and other test equipment
- Build test fixtures and Python-based test automation for board-level and vehicle-level verification
- Support environmental testing including vibration, shock, and thermal cycling
- Work with PCB fabricators, assemblers, and component suppliers on sourcing, lead times, and cost
- Support vehicle integration, ground testing, and flight testing, including time in the field
- Troubleshoot failures, perform root-cause analysis, and implement fixes after testing
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline
- 0-3 years of professional experience; recent graduates with strong hands-on project experience are encouraged to apply
- Hands-on experience designing and building electronics through internships, research, or student teams (rocketry, UAS, Formula SAE, robotics, CubeSat, or similar)
- Experience with schematic capture and PCB layout tools (Altium, KiCad, or similar)
- Solid foundation in analog, digital, and power electronics
- Comfort debugging hardware with oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, and other lab equipment
- Familiarity with microcontrollers, embedded systems, and common interfaces (SPI, I2C, UART, CAN)
- Ability to use Python or similar scripting tools for testing and data analysis
- Curiosity, ownership, and a drive to learn quickly in a fast-moving startup environment
- Ability to work on-site in Hawthorne, California
Preferred Experience
- Internship or project experience with avionics or electronics for aerospace, drones, rockets, robotics, or other complex hardware
- Experience designing power electronics, motor control, or actuator drive circuits
- Exposure to EMI/EMC, grounding, shielding, or signal integrity
- Experience with environmental or flight hardware testing
- Experience designing boards under tight size, weight, power, and cost constraints
- Experience working with PCB manufacturers and electronics assemblers
- Hands-on fabrication skills including soldering and harness building
Why Join Us
- Own real avionics hardware early in your career rather than a narrow subsystem within a large program
- Learn directly from an experienced, hands-on team on a small engineering staff
- Work on hardware that has already progressed into real-world customer demonstrations
- Move quickly from design to physical hardware, testing, and flight
- Help build systems designed for scalable manufacturing as the company grows
- Early-stage equity
- Performance-based bonuses for exceptional contributions
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Company-provided meals during working days and launch activities
- Paid time off and company holidays
Compensation Details
$100,000 - $160,000
#LI-AV