Avionics Engineer

Avionics Engineer - Job Description

About AdAstra:

AdAstra Talent Acquisition is a boutique firm which partners with elite aerospace and CleanTech start-ups to headhunt for their most critical technical roles. This role is with a confidential client company based in Oxnard, CA.

About the Company:

Our client is building the largest UAV swarm in the world and the only Group 5 UAV swarm. This long-range, low-cost UAV is designed to endure near hotspots in Europe and Asia, keeping democracies free by making it impractical to invade & occupy free people.

Their team has years of aerospace experience from Scaled Composites, Stratolaunch, Airbus Vahana, Airflow, MIT JHO, Uber Elevate, Boeing, and Embraer X. They have previously put together billions in tech deals involving DOD and built software platforms supporting millions of users, cutting edge AI, and ultra-low latency trading.

As an Avionics Engineer, you will design and build the hardware and software that powers long-range swarming drones. Utilizing a mix of third party and in-house built components, the avionics system will fly the aircraft, operate payloads, and coordinate with other aircraft and ground control stations to implement the swarming tactics that make each aircraft perform as part of a networked system far more capable than any single aircraft can be.

What you'll do

• Be part of the team that architects avionics hardware, software, avionics systems, autonomy, and ground control functions for a large uncrewed aircraft
• Design electrical circuits and boards for test and flight hardware
• Perform make vs. buy analysis for hardware components
• Design, integrate, and support embedded systems in real-time and non-real-time environments, on the ground and in the air
• Bring up and support systems delivering autonomy, novel sensing capabilities, and networking capabilities
• Define and implement architectures supporting software and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing on avionics components
• Develop simulation models and perform verification of software components
• Plan and equip test facilities
• Help develop and test certification standards for attritable-grade systems
• Assemble, test, debug, and fly a robust control and communications system in real aircraft

What you've done

**Important note: We do not expect that one candidate has expertise in all areas listed below. Ideally this individual will have expertise in some of these areas along with a solid familiarity with the others.

• 5+ years of experience working with complex integrated systems, both hardware and software
• Expertise with safety-critical avionics (or a closely related discipline) system architecture, along with development processes for them
• Ability to design circuits and boards, both analog and digital
• Deep understanding of the embedded software / RTOS interaction (including ability to get VXWorks running on hardware)
• Understanding of, and experience with aesthetics for, systems programming languages such as C, C++, Rust, or other systems languages
• Familiarity with the toolchains, hardware constraints, and design philosophies for embedded systems
• Strong in hardware and software testing techniques, inducing HITL and simulations (using SimuLink or a similar software), along with test bench expertise (oscilloscopes, network analyzers)

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working on small teams and/or in a startup environment
• Track record of leading new aircraft development projects
• Familiarity with a major microcontroller or microprocessor family
• Experience setting up a test lab from scratch and conducting thorough testing of both hardware and software
• Expertise in building automated software build and test infrastructure
• Experience in robotics and automation, whether virtual, terrestrial, or aerial
• Familiarity with network routing and switching

ITAR Requirements

• Candidate must be capable of obtaining and maintaining a security clearance

AdAstra Company Description:

This position is a direct hire, permanent placement for a client of AdAstra.

AdAstra's mission is building thriving teams within elite aerospace organizations.

Our commitment is to curate and close premier talent for our partners, achieved via specialized technical screening, personalized culture assessment, and high-touch candidate engagement. We are motivated to foster boundless team satisfaction and catalyze innovation for future generations, enabling inconceivable technology from Earth, to the stars.

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