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# Principal Spacecraft Avionics Hardware Development Engineer

- **Company:** Varda Space Industries
- **Location:** Hawthorne, CA, United States
- **Experience:** Experienced
- **Salary:** $181,913.0 - $262,763.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Board Bringup, Altium Designer, Data Analysis, Encodings, Communications Protocols, Computer Engineering, Electronic Design Automation, Hardware Design, Python (Programming Language), MATLAB, Schematic Capture, Signal Integrity, Systems Integration, Scripting, Pcb Layout
- **Published:** October 23, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=d7e29567d3ef2430

## About the Role

* B.S. in Electrical or Computer Engineering or related engineering discipline.
 * 8+ years of direct experience designing electronics hardware - schematic capture, PCB layout, board bring-up, and environmental qualification - for aerospace, automotive, or other high-reliability industries.
 * 3+ years of experience working directly on hardware for space applications.
 * Demonstrated experience owning the architecture and implementation of complex electronics systems from design to production/deployment.
 * Advanced PCB design expertise, knowledge of high speed signal integrity, power and grounding, electromagnetic compatibility.
 * Experience taking complex PCB designs through fabrication and assembly.
 * Expert user of Altium and/or KiCad EDA suites.
 * Strong hands-on lab experience with electronic test equipment including oscilloscopes, function generators, benchtop digital multimeters, and power supplies.
 * Experience programming in Python, MATLAB, or another scripting/data analysis language.
 * Demonstrated experience implementing the hardware layer of numerous on-board and over-harness communication protocols such as SPI, RS422, and 1000BASE-T.
 * Experience designing analog/digital filtering and mixed-signal circuits.
 * Power electronics design experience including load switches and switch mode DC:DC converters.
 * Understanding of aerospace sensor and actuator technologies including: RTDs, pressure transducers, brushless motors, solenoid valves, thermocouples, stepper motors, and rotary/linear Encoders.

Preferred Skills & Experience

 * Industry leading electronic circuit design and analysis skills.
 * Strong supporting general knowledge in physics, math, and chemistry fundamentals for designing electronics that experience unique environments.

## Description

* PCB level electronics design at all lifecycle stages, from schematic capture, to layout, to design validation, fabrication/assembly, and manufacturing test.
 * Contribute to avionics architecture and system design for next-generation vehicles and hardware block upgrades to existing vehicles.
 * Help define standards, processes and procedures to enable exemplary electrical engineering at Varda.
 * Distilling high level company or mission objectives into requirements, designs, and developmental milestones for your subsystems.
 * Avionics subject matter expert for satellite, reentry vehicle, and payload hardware. Providing support to those using your products, namely the Varda GNC, pharmaceutical, mission operations, and integration teams.
 * Actively collaborate with cross functional teams such as flight software, thermal, GNC, and structures to determine across vehicle system impacts of design decisions.
 * Ownership of product acceptance and qualification testing for space environments (Thermal, Vibe, Shock, TVAC, and EMI) with support from the Avionics Test team.
 * Provide direction on system-level integration test plans to verify your hardware performs as expected at the vehicle level.
 * Perform root cause analysis on test failures and implement holistic mitigation strategies for flight risks.
 * Mentor junior engineers on their projects, challenges, and design methodologies setting a high bar for the future leaders of Varda.