Senior Electrical Hardware Engineer (Avionics)

At Astrobotic Technology Inc. we are redefining what is possible beyond Earth and building the systems that enable humanitys return to the Moon and beyond. From lunar landers and rovers to advanced navigation and in-space computing, our teams design and deliver the technologies that power real missions, not just concepts. With more than $600 million in contracts across NASA, the DOW, and commercial partners, and two lunar missions already secured, our work is shaping the future of space exploration. We recently achieved a historic milestone by launching and operating the first American lunar lander since the Apollo era, while continuing to advance reusable vertical takeoff/vertical landing rocket systems and next-generation propulsion.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with a propulsion and test campus in Mojave, California, Astrobotic is home to a team of pioneers known as "Astrobots" who are driven to make space accessible to the world.

The Avionics team is responsible for the electrical components on our vehicles from concept through design, testing, production, and integration of the flight unit. As Senior Electrical Hardware Engineer, you will be responsible for the technical aspects of design, manufacturing oversight, testing of avionics hardware for various spacecraft subsystems, and generating documentation to support software development, component acceptance testing, component/vehicle assembly, and integration.

Job Responsibilities

• The development of flight hardware avionics, including computing, signal conditioning, control electronics, filtering, data acquisition, and command & data handling (C&DH).
• Providing technical and programmatic guidance to internal avionics team members, employees, subcontractors, consultants, and partner support personnel.
• Managing the schedule, budget, and design performance for an assigned Line Replaceable Unit (LRU) or portion of the Avionics subsystem.
• Delegating and managing the completion of discrete tasks within a multi-disciplinary team.
• Performing trade studies for electrical and avionics systems.
• Analyzing and verifying different operating modes of the spacecraft by designing, fabricating, and testing integrated avionics systems.
• Utilizing partners and suppliers to identify and implement cost-effective, technically optimal solutions.
• Researching and selecting components from various external vendors by verifying that the components meet the mission needs.
• Testing of fabricated PCBs or integrated avionics systems.
• Developing test scripts or simulations for testing integrated systems.
• Participating in environmental tests of engineering design units.
• Participating in qualification tests of flight design units.
• Delivering technical reports of tests and advancements in avionics and power systems.

Required Qualifications

• Experience in component/LRU electrical design.
• Ability to mentor and lead small teams of engineers to design complex products.
• Systems engineering (SE) experience for controlling requirements, risks, and integration flow.
• Experience with communications protocols such as RS-422, RS-485, CAN, Ethernet, SPI, I2C, UART.
• Schematic and board design proficiency using software like Altium, Eagle, OrCAD, or similar.
• Rapid prototype development skills.
• Strong debugging skills.
• Digital, analog, and signal conditioning design skills.
• Good communication and technical writing skills.
• Highly proficient with MS Office tools.
• 8 years of experience in electronics hardware development.
• B.S. in Electrical or Computer Engineering or equivalent work experience.

Desired Qualifications

• Microsoft Project, JIRA, or similar task management and scheduling tools.
• Knowledge of Range Safety and Ground Safety electronics compliance.
• Capable of utilizing mechanical computer-aided design (CAD) tools to develop avionics systems.
• Capable of programming FPGAs, microcontrollers, computer processors, graphic processors, or similar.
• Knowledge of NASA-STD 4001 and NASA-STD 4003 or similar.
• Knowledge of space environmental tests.
• Experience with testing for MIL-STD 461 or similar.
• M.S. in Electrical or Computer Engineering.

Stand-out Qualifications

• Experience in developing spacecraft electronics systems for a Class D unmanned spacecraft or similar.
• Experience in High-Speed Digital printed circuit board design.
• Experience implementing VITA VPX or SpaceVPX standards (VITA 46.0, VITA 65.0, VITA 78.0).

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Astrobotic Technology Inc. does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor.

If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or the recruiting process, please send a request to contact@astrobotic.com.