Technical Staff - Avionics and Hardware-in--Loop; HWIL) Lead Engineer

Technical Staff - Avionics and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) Lead Engineer

The Advanced Capabilities and Technologies Group (Group 91) researches, develops, and evaluates technologies for next-generation space systems. Current areas of interest include novel orbital constellations, deployable apertures, optical and RF imaging arrays, wide-field image acquisition and processing, feature modeling and recognition, communications networks, data visualization, and decision support. The group’s programs leverage resources from across Lincoln Lab to address critical needs for DARPA, the Air Force, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and others.

Our goal is to provide new capabilities, develop their of concepts of operation, and ensure that they are resilient to disruptive technological advances.

Group 91 Description

The Advanced Capabilities and Technologies Group within MIT Lincoln Laboratory's Space Systems and Technology Division develops and demonstrates advanced space capabilities for emerging national security missions. Our work spans novel mission architectures from very low Earth orbit to cislunar space, including dynamic space operations, tactically responsive space missions, autonomous maneuvering, distributed spacecraft coordination, distributed sensing, and advanced passive and active sensing modalities.

We combine mission analysis, systems engineering, modeling and simulation, and rapid prototyping to evaluate and demonstrate transformative space capabilities. We seek exceptionally motivated and highly self-directed engineers who thrive on technically complex, multidisciplinary problems and are excited to support first-of-a-kind space capabilities from concept formulation through flight experimentation. Team members are expected to operate with substantial technical autonomy, often supporting multiple concurrent programs, and routinely lead efforts spanning mission concept development, requirements engineering, integration and test, vendor interface, and flight test operations.

Job Description Group 91 is seeking a Technical Staff member to lead avionics engineering and hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) test bed development in support of a portfolio of space mission programs. The successful candidate will lead the architecture, development, and operation of HWIL test environments and flat-sat configurations used to verify flight software and avionics hardware prior to integration and flight. This role requires hands-on experience with space hardware and assembly, integration, and test (AI&T), along with the high-fidelity compute infrastructure needed to simulate the space environment for sensor and avionics testing.

This position offers the opportunity to shape avionics test infrastructure and processes across the group, mentor junior engineers, and directly support the successful demonstration of novel space capabilities.

Key Responsibilities Avionics Systems Engineering

• Lead the design, development, and integration of avionics hardware and embedded systems for spacecraft and payload applications.
• Define avionics architecture, including flight computer, sensor, actuator, and communication bus interfaces (e.g., Space Wire, MIL-STD-1553, CAN, Ethernet), as well as interfaces to sensing, communications, and navigation subsystems as applicable.
• Support development and review of avionics-related requirements, interface control documents (ICDs), and verification and validation (V&V) plans.
• Support integration of flight software with avionics hardware, including bring-up, debugging, and anomaly resolution.

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) Test Bed and Flat-Sat Leadership

• Lead the architecture, development, and maintenance of HWIL test beds and flat-sat configurations, including real-time simulation…