Senior Electrical Engineer II Verified today
About This Role
Rocket Lab Optical Systems solves mission-critical space domain and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance challenges for Department of Defense and Intelligence Community customers. As a Senior Electrical Engineer II in Tucson, AZ, you will support development and test of avionics hardware for electro-optical systems. You will work across all aspects of electrical hardware development: requirements definition, design, prototyping, fabrication, testing, and production.
What You'll Own
Hardware Design and Architecture
- Own 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
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, 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
Preferred Qualifications
- Master's or PhD in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or other engineering discipline
- Proficiency with electronic lab equipment such as power supplies, oscilloscopes, DMMs, signal generators, soldering irons
- Experience designing electronics for space environments, including radiation impacts and mitigation such as SEU/SEL
- Experience designing for high-reliability aerospace applications including TVAC, shock, and vibration
- Experience with EMI/EMC testing
- Proficiency with Altium Designer in schematic capture and layout
- Proficiency 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 success in managing competing priorities in dynamic environments
This position may require prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, computer work, and occasional exposure to moderate levels of noise, dust, and fumes in production areas.