Senior Avionics Hardware Engineer, RF Verified today
About the Team
The Avionics team designs, builds, tests, installs and operates the hardware that connects and controls every major electrical system on Terran R and ground infrastructure. Engineers work closely with propulsion, GNC, fluids and stage engineering teams to ensure seamless integration and operation, with close partnership between avionics design, manufacturing and test enabling rapid iteration.
About the Role
You will own the development, test and integration of GPS-based navigation system avionics used within the Terran R launch vehicle. You will conduct architectural trades, develop acceptance and qualification test plans, and be responsible for critical sensory infrastructure enabling the landing, recovery and reuse of the vehicle booster stage.
You will provide technical guidance across the vehicle's RF architecture, including telemetry downlinks, command uplinks and antenna system deployment. You will mentor hardware engineers on RF design fundamentals, review design analyses and support architectural trades to ensure RF systems work cohesively from design through operations.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or a related field
- 5+ years of experience in electronics designed for harsh environments and mission-critical applications such as launch vehicles, spacecraft, aircraft or robotics
- Experience with hardware bring-up, validation, debugging and data analysis
- Experience working with highly cross-functional teams (GNC, mechanical, electrical, software, etc.) to develop integrated electronics solutions
- Deep understanding of RF system fundamentals including impedance matching and transmission line theory, link budget analysis and RF propagation effects, and antenna theory (gain, beamwidth, polarization, radiation patterns)
Nice to Haves
- In-depth knowledge of GNSS receiver systems including PVT calculation, satellite tracking/acquisition, error sources and RF front-end architecture
- Understanding of RF communication systems including modulation schemes (FSK, PSK, OQPSK, SOQPSK), channel coding and bit error rate analysis
- Experience combining data from various navigation sensors (GPS, IMU, magnetometers, altimeters, LiDAR, etc.) to achieve robust and accurate navigation solutions
- Experience with high-speed serial interfaces (SPI, PCIe, Ethernet, etc.), memory interfaces, and design for SoCs, microcontrollers and microprocessors
Compensation
Hiring range: $148,000 to $222,000 USD. Compensation determined based on experience, qualifications and other job-related factors. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, generous PTO and sick leave, parental leave, and an annual learning and development stipend.