Senior Avionics Hardware Engineer - Electron (Aerospace)

Location: Auckland, New Zealand. Domestic and international travel may be required. For the New Zealand office, background and nationality checks apply because the role involves equipment and data regulated by ITAR; eligibility may depend on citizenship of Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the European Union, or a NATO country, subject to dual-nationality restrictions.

Company

hirify.global is an end-to-end aerospace company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical spaceflight subsystems.

What you will do

• Own avionics hardware through requirements, schematic capture, PCB layout, PCBA bring-up, mechanical integration, testing, production, and deployment.
• Develop PCB designs for high-voltage powertrain components, flight computers, analogue sensing circuits, and other Electron avionics systems.
• Debug complex electronics issues at board and system level using laboratory equipment and custom test fixtures.
• Conduct electrical and reliability analyses, including power budgets, thermal derating, signal integrity, FMECA, and root-cause investigations.
• Lead verification and environmental testing, including thermal vacuum, shock, vibration, and EMI/EMC testing.
• Support orbital and HASTE launch operations, develop test automation, and provide technical leadership across the avionics team.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Electronics, or Mechatronics Engineering, or exceptional equivalent ability.
• 4+ years of hands-on experience developing reliable electronics.
• Strong knowledge of power electronics, analogue, digital, and mixed-signal circuit design, signal integrity, and grounding.
• Proficiency with schematic capture and PCB layout tools such as Altium or KiCAD, plus circuit simulation tools such as LTspice or SPICE.
• Hands-on experience using laboratory equipment including oscilloscopes, electronic loads, DMMs, function generators, spectrum analysers, and process calibrators.
• For the New Zealand office, eligibility to access ITAR-regulated equipment and data is required; nationality checks and background checks will be conducted.

Nice to have

• Experience with board layout, low-noise design, design for manufacturability, assembly, and test.
• Experience with high-reliability or flight hardware and ECSS, NASA, or IPC standards.
• Knowledge of RS-422, RS-485, SPI, I²C, CAN bus, Ethernet, motor drives, power distribution, or battery management systems.
• Experience with embedded systems, hardware/software integration, sensor interfacing, and signal conditioning.
• Python experience for test and automation, plus requirements management and configuration control in regulated environments.

Culture & Benefits

• Hands-on engineering environment focused on building and testing real flight hardware.
• Fast-changing, high-pressure work with tight deadlines and evolving requirements.
• Emphasis on ownership, practical problem solving, teamwork, quality, and mission success.
• Health and safety policies and procedures must be followed at all times.
• Additional duties and travel may be required as reasonably necessary.