🌌 Avionics Design Manager

Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is a vertically integrated provider of small launch services, satellites, and spacecraft components. Our mission is to open access to space to improve life on Earth. Our team is over 1,300 people strong and we’re adding to it every week. Collaboration is at our core – every idea is heard, and everyone makes a difference. Teams are nimble, decisions are made quickly, and we are action oriented.

SPACE SYSTEMS

This is a rare opportunity to play a key role in Rocket Lab’s evolution into an end-to-end space company that delivers launch, spacecraft, and on-orbit operations. The Space Systems Division is shaping Rocket Lab’s future with Photon, our brand of high-performance satellites, enabling innovative missions in low Earth orbit and beyond including missions for NASA to LEO, the Moon, and Mars and commercial customers, including leading the design and manufacture of 17 high-power telecommunication spacecraft buses for Globalstar.

Rocket Lab is also growing our spacecraft components business, anchored on the acquisition of Sinclair Interplanetary manufacturing reaction wheels and star trackers in Toronto, SolAero Technologies manufacturing solar power and primary structure solutions in Albuquerque, Planetary Systems Corporation manufacturing launch separation systems in Silver Spring, and Advanced Solutions, Inc., provider of flight and ground software as a service in Denver. Our components business is key to vertically integrating our spacecraft solutions and enabling constellations for customers.  

 Avionics Design Manager

Based at Rocket Lab's new headquarters in Long Beach, California the Avionics Design Manager is responsible for responsible for management and execution of electronic design engineering activities for, spacecraft avionics, spacecraft and satellite busses, launch vehicle avionics and specialist ground support equipment components. This position will report directly to the Chief Engineer for Space Systems.

This role has significant technical requirements for electronic circuit design, PCB design, electromechanical design, and electronic testing for mission-critical and safety-critical circuits that are optimized for reliability, performance, mass, and regulatory compliance. 

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manager the core avionics team and work with program managers and systems engineers to facilitate design, development, test and delivery of all major avionics components for spacecraft missions
• Experience managing timelines and resource allocations across internal and external programs for the whole team
• Experience working with subcontractors and vendors.
• Demonstrated success working in a dynamic environment with multiple priorities.
• Demonstrated success meeting aggressive development schedules.
• Conduct performance reviews for the avionics team

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or other engineering discipline.
• 12+ years of experience with hardware development or electronics test engineering.
• Understanding of electronic circuits, design principles, and SMT manufacturing techniques.
• Experienced in analog sub-circuit and board design, specifically in signal conditioning, ADCs, voltage references, voltage/current sensing, and temperature measurement via Thermocouples or RTDs.
• Experienced in high-speed sub-circuit and board design, inclusive of DDR or SDRAM memory technologies, and FPGA/SoC interfaces.
• Experienced with design and implementation of high-speed communications interfaces, both inter-board and intra-board, such as SPI, I2C, SpaceWire, CANBUS, Serial, Ethernet, LVDS, and MII.

 DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience designing hardware from concept through production.
• Understanding and experience in environmental design testing, such as vibration, shock, thermal, and TVAC.
• Understanding of key, avionics, spacecraft, launch vehicle and flight termination systems regulations.
• Experience in design of high-reliability electrical systems for spacecraft, flight termination systems, or launch vehicles.
• Proficiency with programming languages, scripting tools, and automation (C/C++, Python preferred)

Important information:

FOR CANDIDATES SEEKING TO WORK IN US OFFICES ONLY:

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen as defined by ITAR (22 CFR §120.15) or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S Department of State.

Rocket Lab provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment at Rocket Lab, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.