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Salary: USD 130,000 - 170,000 / annual
Fortastra is building next-generation autonomous orbital control systems for national security space applications. The company is seeking a Senior Avionics Engineer to design and deliver spacecraft avionics hardware and embedded systems through the full product lifecycle.
In this hands-on role, you will own the complete lifecycle of avionics hardware from concept and architecture through PCB design, bring-up, integration, and flight support. Key responsibilities include:
- Architecting avionics subsystems and designing flight computers and support boards, including processor, memory, power management, sensor/actuator interfaces, and communications interfaces.
- Selecting and integrating electrical components (MCUs/SoCs, FPGAs, memories, sensors, transceivers, power devices) for reliable operation in demanding orbital environments.
- Defining and implementing board-level interfaces and data buses (CAN, SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet, SpaceWire) across the spacecraft avionics network.
- Developing and maintaining Interface Control Documents (ICDs) for avionics connections to GNC, power, propulsion, and payload subsystems.
- Bringing up new boards in the lab: writing test firmware, debugging hardware issues, and validating functionality using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and instrumentation.
- Collaborating with embedded software and flight software engineers to integrate low-level drivers, bootloaders, and health monitoring.
- Contributing to power architecture and distribution within avionics assemblies, including protections, filtering, and load management.
- Applying design-for-test and design-for-reliability principles to ensure boards can be efficiently validated, qualified, and flown.
Fortastra operates with a lean, elite engineering culture emphasizing high autonomy, high ownership, and direct impact. The company values technical rigor, candor, and disciplined speed with uncompromising flight-readiness standards. You will work in a small, high-impact team where exceptional engineers design, test, and deliver mission-critical systems end-to-end.
The role requires 5 days on-site in Torrance, CA. U.S. citizenship is required.
QUALIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS:
- B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or closely related discipline.
- 5+ years of experience as a design engineer owning electrical/avionics hardware through its full lifecycle (spacecraft, automotive EVs, robotics, defense, or similar domains).
- Strong EE design experience, including schematic capture and PCB design/review for complex digital and mixed-signal boards.
- Hands-on experience bringing up boards: flashing firmware, exercising interfaces, and debugging hardware at the bench.
- Proficiency with embedded systems and common serial buses (CAN, SPI, I2C, UART); familiarity with data acquisition or telemetry systems.
- Experience with C/C++ and Python in Linux-based environments for hardware bring-up, test automation, or tooling.
- Familiarity with FPGA-based designs (RTL design, integration, or constraints) is a plus but not required.
- Experience in at least one mission-critical domain (spacecraft, launch vehicles, automotive EVs, robotics, defense, or industrial control).
- Comfort working across disciplines and collaborating closely with software, mechanical, and systems engineers.
