Founding Avionics Engineer

You will work on a historic lunar payload which will build the foundation of a Moon base, landing on the Moon in 2027.

• Design the avionics stack: controller boards, power distribution, sensor interfaces and valve actuation electronics.
• Write the flight software for payload sequencing, closed-loop process control, and fault management.
• Own the electrical interface to the CLPS lander (power, data, commanding, telemetry formatting).
• Select and qualify components for the lunar radiation and thermal environment.
• Design and build harnessing, including a lunar umbilical cord exposed on the Moon for our deployable payload.

• Experience designing mixed-signal PCBs from schematic through layout, fabrication, and bring-up (full-cycle).
• RS-485 / serial protocol design: you can write a protocol ICD and define baud rate, framing, CRC, and fault handling from scratch.
• Flight software in C/C++ on microcontrollers: state machines, FDIR, watchdog logic, closed-loop control.
• Familiarity with spaceflight-adjacent standards for wiring, grounding, and EMI/EMC.
• Power electronics: 28 Vdc conditioning, inrush limiting, motor driver integration, and power budget analysis.
• Harness design: MIL-STD-38999 connectors, EMI/EMC compliance, thermal-rated wire and insulation (Kapton/PTFE), shielding continuity.
• Comfort operating across the hardware/software boundary: you can debug a board with an oscilloscope and a JTAG probe.
• You’ve built flight hardware before

• Experience architecting an avionics system from scratch that flew into space: you've taken a design from concept to launch and can point to it.
• Full-cycle PCB design: schematic through layout, fab, bring-up, and in-system debug.

• Experience writing ICDs and technical documentation delivered to a vehicle or launch provider.
• Familiarity with actuator drive electronics (brushed DC motors, NEA/pyro devices) or compressed-gas systems.
• Comfortable interfacing with mechanical design teams.
• Experience with radiation-tolerant or rad-hard component selection.
• You can drink from the fire hose.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.