Principal Electrical Engineer – Avionics, Command & Data Handling Lead

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Oregon.

📋 Description

• Lead the avionics and Command & Data Handling (C&DH) efforts within the Electrical Engineering team.

• Design the architecture for the avionics and C&DH subsystems, making decisions on whether to buy or build.

• Manage the requirements for avionics and C&DH, including I/O and channel allocation, as well as interface control documents.

• Develop in-house electronics, covering aspects such as topology, component selection, schematics, and circuit analysis.

• Conduct worst-case and derating analyses and choose EEE parts suitable for a 15-year GEO mission.

• Assist with PCB layout, board bring-up, debugging, and testing processes.

• Oversee the technical procurement of externally sourced units, including specifications, Statements of Work (SOWs), technical evaluations, supplier design reviews, and acceptance data.

• Collaborate with leads from Flight Software, Systems Engineering, Power, Battery, and other Electrical Engineering domains.

• Manage hardware interfaces related to power, grounding, bonding, protection, harness, and spacecraft-level integration.

• Operate within the Systems Engineering framework for requirements, interfaces, and technical budgets while making decisions regarding avionics architecture.

⛳️ Requirements

• A B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering or a related field.

• A minimum of 8 years of experience, including work with spacecraft or other high-reliability avionics.

• Proven hands-on experience in board design, from requirements gathering to schematic creation, analysis, bring-up, and testing.

• Experience in subsystem-level engineering, including architecture definition, requirements flow-down, interface control, and resource budgeting.

• Knowledge in Command and Data Handling, specifically on-board computing, telemetry and command architecture, data bus topology, as well as discrete, analog, and serial signal handling.

• Proficient in EEE parts selection and derating for space or other high-reliability applications.

• Experience in specifying and technically overseeing procured electronic units, including conducting supplier design reviews.

• Capability to collaborate across electrical, software, and systems domains and achieve consensus with subsystem leaders.

• Highly desirable: experience with GEO communications satellites, familiarity with FPGA or firmware, and knowledge of ECSS or equivalent space standards.

• Candidates must be U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or have refugee/asylee status due to U.S. export control regulations.

• Temporary work visa holders, such as those on H-1B, TN, or O-1 visas, are not eligible for consideration.

🏝️ Benefits

• Fully remote work opportunity within the United States.

• Occasional travel to the Beaverton, OR office may be necessary for team meetings, integration tasks, and other in-person activities.