Spacecraft Avionics Engineering Manager

Job Summary
As the Avionics Engineering Team Manager, you lead the Embedded Design & Analysis team and act as the primary technical leader enabling responsible engineers to make sound design decisions while navigating budget, schedule, and resource constraints.

This position's internal job code is EE Engineering Manager. Our team is currently hiring for level K.

Responsibilities

You lead and staff the Embedded Design and Analysis team responsible for developing internally manufactured avionics such as flight computers, payload interfaces, and power switching hardware. Cross-team alignment is central to the role as you define and improve the engineering processes your team relies on and help them navigate organizational resources. You ensure that technical solutions, budget inputs, and schedule expectations remain grounded and aligned with program needs as hardware moves through the development workflow. When challenges arise, your experience and mentorship strengthen the team’s ability to reduce risk, make sound decisions, and deliver hardware under real-world constraints. Drawing on your broad, cross-disciplinary understanding of avionics development, you help shape next-generation products and architectures.

Technical Leadership & Engineering Excellence

• Own the engineering processes that define how avionics is designed, built, reviewed, and released; maintain clear, updated documentation and AS9100-aligned standards.
• Set and uphold the technical quality bar for requirements, design scope, design reviews, and risk reduction.
• Build the tools, templates, and metrics needed for scalable avionics development, including cost and schedule inputs.

Team Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, mentor, and grow the team through regular 1:1s, performance reviews, coaching, and program staffing.
• Recruit, interview, and hire exceptional engineers who strengthen the team's capability and culture.

Cross-Functional Execution

• Coordinate across engineering, programs, manufacturing, and supporting teams to resolve technical issues and close discrepancies.
• Identify technical and program risks early, drive mitigation strategies, and ensure clear communication across stakeholders.

Strategic Contribution

• Contribute to spacecraft and avionics architecture strategy, including proposal support when required.

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 5–10 years of experience in engineering for space systems.
• Experience growing, leading and managing multi-disciplinary engineering teams.
• Expertise with circuit simulation (LTSpice or equivalent), signal integrity tools (Hyperlynx or equivalent), schematic capture, and PCB layout (Altium or equivalent).
• Strong experience with all manner of prototyping and bring-up using benchtop test equipment in a development lab environment.
• Knowledge of MIL-461, SMC-S-016, EEE-INST-002, and IPC class ratings.
• Extensive experience budgeting, scheduling and executing board and box level design campaigns.
• Proficiency with data analysis and modeling tools (Python, MATLAB, or equivalent).
• Excellent communication skills, with ability to clearly convey design, development and qualification test risks.
• Ability to obtain TS/SCI clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• 10+ years experience in space-related and avionics hardware roles
• M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• Experience with FPGA development (VHDL or Verilog).
• Previous startup or small-team experience with demonstrated ability to establish processes and thrive in ambiguity.
• Experience with Linux, embedded software, board support packages (BSP), and C/C++.
• Familiarity with spacecraft charging effects and material/electronic susceptibility.
• Customer-facing experience presenting at design reviews or technical forums.
• Experience with anomaly resolution, documentation, and lessons-learned processes.
• Experience with risk management, configuration management, or change control.
• Ability to communicate complex technical topics clearly to both experts and non-experts.
• Active U.S. Government security clearance (preferred, not required).

Please note that the salary information shown below is a general guideline only of what is reasonably expected to be paid for the position. Salaries are based upon candidate experience and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations.

Summary Pay-Range

• Level K: $147,050 - $216,250