Sr. Avionics Systems Engineer — Advanced Technology & Architecture Verified today

About the role

This role supports the development and operations of New Glenn, a single-configuration, heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle capable of routinely carrying people and payloads to low-Earth orbit, geostationary transfer orbit, cislunar, and beyond. Its first stage is fully reusable, and the vehicle was designed from the beginning to be human-capable.

As a Sr. Avionics Systems Engineer working directly with the New Glenn Avionics Chief Architect, you will define what is possible for the next generation of launch vehicle avionics. You will rapidly evaluate and demonstrate emerging technologies, mature them to the point of confidence, and hand proven, ambitious baselines to design teams. This is a role for an engineer who has owned hardware end-to-end as a Responsible Engineer and who also sees how every box, bus, and cable in an avionics system fits together.

Responsibilities

• Work directly with the New Glenn Avionics Chief Architect as a trusted technical partner on architecture direction, technology strategy, and cross-subsystem problem solving
• Quickly and effectively conduct evaluation and demonstration of critical new technologies that have the potential to enable major improvements in next-generation avionics designs, maturing them to the point where they can be baselined and turned over to design teams
• Establish an aggressive but achievable baseline for new avionics products, challenging assumptions on performance, cost, mass, and schedule
• Conduct system-level analysis and testing to support the operation of current and future avionics systems
• Lead architecture-level trade studies spanning compute, networking, power, instrumentation, harnessing, and software interfaces
• Build and execute rapid prototyping and demonstration plans, including breadboard/brassboard development, lab test setups, and data-driven maturity assessments
• Translate demonstrated results into clear requirements, interface definitions, and design guidance for Responsible Engineers and design teams
• Support integration, test, and anomaly resolution at the stage and vehicle level, applying system-level insight to isolate and close issues
• Partner across avionics hardware, embedded software, GN&C, structures, propulsion, and manufacturing to ensure architectures are producible, testable, and operable
• Mentor engineers across the avionics organization, raising the technical bar and sharing lessons learned

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical field
• 8+ years of relevant experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Experience leading the full product life cycle for one or more avionics systems as a technical owner (e.g., Responsible Engineer) and/or at the program or team level in a relevant environment such as launch vehicle, spacecraft, UAV, or similar
• Experience with complex digital designs featuring microcontrollers, microprocessors, and programmable logic devices (FPGAs/CPLDs)
• Experience with communication interfaces including Ethernet, serial, I2C, SPI, and similar protocols
• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex, highly integrated systems and deliver results-oriented solutions
• Excellent verbal, written, and graphical communication skills, with the ability to influence technical direction across disciplines
• Ability to execute in a dynamic, fast-paced environment with a bias for action and comfort with ambiguity
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading architecture-level trades for avionics systems
• Experience with integration and operation of stage-level or vehicle-level avionics
• Experience with the utilization of AI for ground and flight applications, including the verification and validation of Edge AI systems
• Experience applying non-traditionally radiation-hardened electronics (commercial or automotive-grade devices) in space applications, including radiation characterization, screening, and mitigation approaches
• M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline
• Hands-on experience maturing new technologies from concept through demonstration and into a production baseline
• Familiarity with high-reliability and harsh-environment electronics practices, including qualification and environmental test
• Experience with avionics networking architectures, time-synchronized systems, and fault-tolerant/redundant design
• Experience developing or specifying test equipment, EGSE, and lab infrastructure for avionics development
• Working knowledge of hardware/software assurance and verification standards (e.g., DO-254, DO-178, DO-160, or similar)

Work location and travel

• This is an on-site role in Kent, WA, co-located with primary New Glenn Avionics design, lab, and integration teams
• Relocation assistance is provided
• Travel is expected to be up to approximately 10% of the time to support test campaigns, vehicle integration, launch site activities, and supplier engagements

Compensation

Base pay range for Washington applicants: $156,802.00 to $219,522.45. Other site ranges may differ.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance
• Paid parental leave, short and long-term disability
• 401(k) with company match of up to 5%
• Education Support Program
• Stock options for all regular employees (working at least 20 hours/week)
• Up to four weeks paid time off per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays
• Bonus eligibility dependent on role type and job level