Avionics Engineer II (Accurate Landing)

Who We Are:

Eras of humanity can often be defined by a dominate transportation mode - horse drawn chariots, ocean going boats, or aircraft. These were spurred by a small group of people rigorously focused on building technology to achieve faster access to more of the world.  We seek to usher in a new era of humanity defined by universal access to the whole globe free of borders and the presence of a routine way from space to Earth. To do this, we are building highly maneuverable re-entry vehicles that can loiter in orbit before precision landing back on Earth. 

What You’ll Do: 

As an Avionics Engineer on Inversion’s Accurate Landing Team, you will be personally responsible for the electrical systems which enable the accurate and precise landing of our Arc spacecraft. This encompasses all events starting with Arc’s first parachute deployments high in the atmosphere through to the recovery of the spacecraft back on Earth.  

Aspects of this work include developing, integrating and maintaining the electrical systems of several parachuting drop test vehicles which will be used for development and qualification of our guided parachute systems. Throughout you will interface closely with all other areas of the engineering team, including avionics, mechanisms, GNC, and software.  

This is a unique opportunity to work on the early stages of a novel reentry vehicle, including defining vehicle architecture and creatively solving new design challenges. 

• Design electronic systems capable of enabling safe recovery of the Arc vehicle anywhere on Earth. 

• Develop analog, power, and mixed-signal circuit designs, harnessing, and rugged electronic hardware assemblies. 

• Test high performance accurate landing and recovery systems through aerial drop test campaigns. 
• Qualify your designs through environmental testing including vibration, shock, thermal, and thermal vacuum testing. 

Required Qualifications: 

• Minimum of Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics or a related field OR equivalent experience. 

• 3+ years of professional experience in electrical system design, integration, and testing. 

• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work in a multi-disciplinary team of mechanical, electrical, and software engineers designing and building space-flight hardware. 

• Experience designing PCBAs using Altium Designer or other ECAD design software. 

• Experience implementing mixed-signal PCBs with digital communications (UART, I2C, SPI, RS422, RS485, CAN, Ethernet, etc.).  

• Understanding of sensor and actuator technologies including IMUs, GPS, brushless DC motors, rotary/linear encoders, resolvers. 

• Experience using programming languages like Python, C/C++, MATLAB, etc. for system development and testing. 

• Experience using common laboratory equipment such as oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, electronic loads, and data acquisition systems for the development and debugging of hardware and software systems. 

• Hands-on prototyping (soldering, board assembly, harnessing) 

• Proven ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment, including prototyping and rapid iteration of new products. 
• This position is onsite at Inversion HQ in Playa Vista, CA. 

Desired Qualifications: 

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics or a related field 

• Familiarity working with LiDAR, Radar, or Computer Vision for navigation applications.  

• Experience using COTS RF hardware for the purposes of telemetry, tracking and commanding of an autonomous system. 

• Experience using Linux based systems for electrical system development. 

• Experience designing safety critical, fault-tolerant or failover-capable electronics. 

• Understanding and experience with requirements, systems design, and test methods for space, launch, and/or reentry environments including thermal, vibration, shock, EMI/EMC, and radiation. 

• Prior experience in design and test of qualified aerospace or space-flight hardware  
• Prior experience working in startups and small independent teams. 

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $110,000-$150,000. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.  

Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in office presence.