Senior Electrical Engineer II Verified today
About the role
As a Senior Electrical Engineer II at Rocket Lab Optical Systems in Tucson, AZ, you will support the development and test of avionics hardware for electro-optical (EO) systems. You will work collaboratively across engineering disciplines on all aspects of electrical hardware development, from requirements definition through design, prototyping, fabrication, testing, and production.
What you will do
Hardware Design and Architecture
- Own the complete lifecycle of avionics hardware for command and control of electro-optical systems
- Lead architecture decisions to advance EO sensor capabilities across LEO, GEO, and Cis-Lunar missions
- Design and integrate complex electronics including FPGA, microcontroller, low-noise ADC/DAC, and VPX systems at CCA/module level
- Develop payload level designs integrating motor controllers, processing units, imagers, and cryptographic devices
- Perform schematic capture and PCBA layout using Altium Designer
Requirements and Verification
- Develop PCBA requirements through cross-functional collaboration with systems, mechanical, thermal, optical and software teams
- Plan and execute design verification testing and system integration testing
- Own environmental qualification programs including EMI/EMC, TVAC, shock, vibration, and mission-specific tests
- Support failure analysis and root-cause investigations for units in test, integration, or on-orbit operations
Leadership and Collaboration
- Provide technical oversight and mentorship to junior engineers and support staff
- Interface with suppliers, manufacturing partners, and internal stakeholders
- Support production manufacturing including DFM reviews, yield improvement, and process optimization
- Participate in design reviews and present technical recommendations to leadership
What you must have
- Bachelor's degree in electrical or computer engineering, or other engineering discipline
- 8+ years of electrical hardware design experience
- Ability to develop blank sheet of paper design concepts
- Experience in PCBA design with FPGAs
- Knowledge of processors, FPGAs, switch mode power supplies, communication interfaces and analog instrumentation
- Strong background in analog electronics design
- Proficiency performing circuit analyses using SPICE and Excel
- U.S. citizenship required due to program requirements
What would strengthen your application
- Master's or PhD in electrical or computer engineering, or other engineering discipline
- Proficiency with basic electronic lab equipment: power supplies, oscilloscopes, DMMs, signal generators, soldering irons
- Experience designing electronics for space environments, including radiation impacts and mitigation (SEU/SEL)
- Experience designing for high-reliability aerospace applications including TVAC, shock, vibration testing
- Experience with EMI/EMC testing
- Proficiency with Altium Designer in schematic capture and layout
- Experience with PCBA verification and validation
- Experience designing rigid-flex PCBs and electromechanical design
- Experience with FPGA design and embedded software development for ARM core processors
- Demonstrated ability to work in dynamic environments and manage competing priorities