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Rocket Lab is seeking a Senior HITL Technician I to design, maintain, and operate hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) systems at their Long Beach headquarters. This role supports the Space Systems organization in building and testing spacecraft, payloads, and subsystems for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, including work with NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force.
You will fabricate, assemble, and test high-quality, high-reliability harnessing and build, integrate, and modify HITL test racks including equipment installation, cable routing, harness integration, and basic checkout. Working hands-on with test and flight hardware, you'll collaborate with cross-disciplinary engineering, test, and spacecraft teams to build, set up, maintain, and improve HITL test and simulation systems for complex spacecraft systems.
Key responsibilities include contributing to equipment rack layout and arrangement, building and iterating prototype rack designs, using and maintaining technical documentation (system diagrams, schematics, ICDs, procedures, test/anomaly reports), and identifying and communicating buildability, maintainability, serviceability, and integration risks during design, build, and integration activities.
You bring 8+ years of relevant industry experience in harness fabrication, rack assembly, test systems, or similar technical environments. You have hands-on experience with harness manufacturing, rack assembly, and rack integration, with proven ability to contribute to rack layout, equipment arrangement, cable routing, and build activities. You can precisely follow quality inspection and manufacturing work instructions, read and interpret system diagrams, schematics, CAD drawings, ICDs, and procedures, and perform harness and rack electrical checks including continuity, pinout, and visual inspection. You understand standard industry ESD practices and work collaboratively across teams while raising concerns early. U.S. citizenship is required due to program requirements.
Nice-to-have qualifications include trade qualification, experience creating technical documentation, familiarity with electrical test equipment (DMMs, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers), experience with network devices and infrastructure, basic Python and Linux scripting, precision soldering, exposure to spacecraft systems or HITL/PIL environments, proficiency with Microsoft Office and web applications, and TS/SCI clearance.
