Avionics & Electrical Engineering Leader

Avionics & Electrical Engineering Leader

Competitive salary + equity & benefits

San Francisco Bay Area, CA

We’re working with a high-growth space technology company developing next-generation satellite platforms and advanced space-based connectivity solutions. The business is focused on building scalable, reliable space infrastructure, with ambitious plans to develop and deploy innovative spacecraft technology.

We’re hiring a senior Avionics & Electrical Engineering Leader to take end-to-end ownership of spacecraft electrical and avionics products, from system architecture and technology strategy through development, qualification and flight. This is a high-impact leadership role combining technical authority, product ownership and organisational development, with responsibility for shaping hardware roadmaps, leading multidisciplinary engineering teams and delivering reliable flight hardware at scale.

What You’ll Do:

• Define the electrical and avionics product strategy, including system architecture, technical roadmaps, build-versus-buy decisions and supplier strategy
• Lead the development and delivery of spacecraft avionics, translating mission requirements into executable engineering plans
• Provide functional leadership across electrical engineering, embedded software, systems engineering and integration and test
• Own technical performance, delivery commitments and cross-functional issue resolution across the avionics domain
• Lead vehicle-level design reviews and drive closure of technical issues across electrical, software, mechanical and payload interfaces
• Manage technical risks, resource requirements, development milestones and delivery schedules
• Build and scale a high-performing engineering organisation, developing technical leaders and establishing clear performance expectations
• Represent the avionics organisation in customer meetings, mission reviews and technical discussions with partners and government stakeholders

You Should Have:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering or a closely related technical discipline
• Approximately 15+ years of progressive engineering experience, including significant leadership experience within the space sector
• A proven track record of owning a spacecraft, major avionics product or comparable flight-critical subsystem through development and successful flight
• Broad technical expertise across spacecraft electrical and avionics architectures, including electrical power systems, command and data handling, flight computing, GNC electronics, payload interfaces and harnessing
• Experience building and leading multidisciplinary teams, ideally with responsibility for 10 or more engineers
• The ability to combine strategic product leadership with strong technical credibility and sound engineering judgement

Bonus:

• Experience with radar, phased-array, beamforming or other sophisticated RF and electronic systems
• Exposure to major Department of Defense radar or missile defence programmes, such as LRDR, SPY-6/AMDR or comparable programmes
• Leadership experience developing avionics or electrical systems for LEO, MEO or GEO spacecraft
• Familiarity with hardware and software assurance standards, including DO-254, DO-178C and MIL-STD-461, or equivalent frameworks
• Previous experience as a Chief Engineer, Engineering Director, VP of Engineering or equivalent senior technical leader within commercial space, defence or a major prime contractor

Why Join:

• Competitive compensation, equity and comprehensive benefits
• End-to-end ownership of a critical spacecraft product with significant technical and strategic influence
• The opportunity to shape spacecraft architecture, technology choices and long-term product roadmaps
• The chance to build and scale a multidisciplinary engineering organisation
• Work at the intersection of spacecraft engineering, product development and mission-critical hardware
• A senior leadership position with direct influence over product performance, engineering culture and future mission capability

Apply:

Email Paolo at [email protected]

Keywords: Spacecraft Avionics, Space Systems, Satellite Engineering, Electrical Power Systems, Command and Data Handling, Flight Computing, GNC Electronics, RF Systems, Phased Array, LEO Satellites, Flight Hardware, Systems Engineering, Aerospace, Defence, Space Technology