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Portal Space Systems is seeking a Head of Electrical & Avionics Engineering to lead the company's spacecraft electrical and avionics function as it scales. This role owns the complete electrical architecture including power generation and distribution, RF/communications hardware, sensors, actuators, board-level electronics, avionics interfaces, and EMI/EMC technical oversight.
Key responsibilities include:
Electrical & Avionics Architecture: Own spacecraft electrical and avionics architecture across vehicle programs. Define electrical architecture trades in partnership with Chief Engineers, Systems Engineering, Software/GNC/Autonomy, Flight Dynamics, Propulsion, and Vehicle Design. Establish electrical design standards, interface expectations, grounding/bonding approaches, EMI/EMC design practices, and hardware review expectations. Ensure designs are compatible with vehicle-level configuration, integration flow, environmental test, acceptance test, and launch operations.
Power, RF, Boards, Sensors, and Interfaces: Lead technical ownership of spacecraft electrical power systems (EPS), including power budgets, distribution architecture, load management, and battery/energy storage interfaces. Own RF and TT&C electrical hardware interfaces. Lead board design ownership including schematics, layout coordination, component selection, and production release support. Own sensor and actuator electrical interfaces and define harnessing, connector, grounding, and shielding requirements.
Verification, Integration, and Test Support: Partner with Systems Engineering to define electrical and avionics verification methods, interface control documentation, and test coverage. Work with Systems Integration & Test on flatsat, HITL, EGSE, hardware/software/mechanical bring-up, and integrated debug. Own electrical readiness for vehicle-level integration, power-on testing, board bring-up, RF checkout, and EMI/EMC troubleshooting. Support anomaly investigations and root-cause analysis.
Functional Leadership & Team Development: Build and manage the Electrical & Avionics engineering team, including hardware architecture, power management, board design, and RF/communications specialists. Mentor engineers, develop technical talent, and establish career paths. Represent the function in cross-program planning and resource allocation.
Portal Space Systems is building spacecraft for the next era of orbital operations, focusing on maneuverability, resilience, and adaptability. The company operates from Bothell, WA with a mission to expand humanity's freedom of movement in space.
