Director, Avionics Hardware Development

At Relativity Space, we have two audacious goals: to build the next great commercial launch company with Terran R and to become America's leading force in additive manufacturing innovation. Both contribute to our long-term vision of creating humanity’s industrial base on Mars, paving the way for interplanetary life to expand the possibilities of the human experience. This journey begins right here on Earth – where we design, build, and fly rockets to deliver customer payloads to orbit. Terran R, our medium-to-heavy lift reusable rocket, fulfills the growing demand for launch capacity, thanks to our iterative approach that accelerates design, testing, and development while minimizing costs. While our groundbreaking research and development in 3D printing pushes the boundaries of large-scale additive manufacturing.

Your journey with us is more than just a job – it’s an opportunity to shape the future of aerospace technology, additive manufacturing, and the human experience alongside a community of passionate, creative individuals. Join us on this extraordinary journey, as we work together to transform our vision into reality.

About the Team: 

The Avionics team is responsible for all aspects of the electrical design on the rocket, from electronics, interconnects, associated mechanical design, testing and initial production. This team's scope includes the flight computers, power systems, RF systems, PCB design, autonomous flight safety systems, and telemetry. This team works on complex electrical systems that require modularity and flexibility, and are critical to the successful launch of Terran R, and beyond!   

About the Role:

As the Director of Avionics Hardware Development, you will lead the ground-up development of cutting edge electronics and mechanical hardware for Relativity’s newest launch vehicle, Terran R. You will lead a team of engineers and managers pushing the limits of new technologies supporting of a highly reliable system that must survive the harsh environments of spaceflight.

You will lead the teams designing and developing the full set of avionics hardware including:

• Electronics Hardware: PCBA design including power electronics, digital electronics, mixed signal electronics, and RF design
• Mechanical Hardware: enclosures, trays, isolators, brackets, and thermal management systems
• Integration: harnessing, vehicle-level packaging, system bring-up

You will lead a team of engineers and engineering managers across multiple disciplines to advance avionics hardware through the full product lifecycle including requirements and system architecture definition, detailed design, development testing, introduction into manufacturing, and integrated test & operations. You will work closely with partner teams across the engineering, manufacturing, test, and operations organizations to develop a cohesive avionics system supporting all flight systems. To be successful in the role you must be comfortable working as a technical leader driving a fast-paced development program where your strategy and decision making are key to our program success. As a leader of leaders, you will also be expected to develop the skills of leaders under you.

About You:

• Bachelors degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field
• 10+ years of experience developing electrical and mechanical hardware for mission-critical applications in harsh environments such as aviation, space, or robotics
• 7+ years of experience leading engineering teams
• Experience leading and developing engineering leaders
• Familiarity with driving hardware development through the full product lifecycle including design, manufacturing, test, and operations

Nice to haves but not required:  

• Experience with electrical CAD tools such as Altium and mechanical CAD tools such as NX
• Experience with embedded software development
• Experience with environmental test equipment such as thermal chambers, shaker tables, and TVAC chambers
• Experience with design and test for EMC and radiation effects
• Familiarity with electrical, mechanical, and thermal analysis techniques and tools

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.