Head of Avionics (Spacecraft)

Location: On-site in San Carlos, California, United States

Salary: $200,000–$250,000 annually

Company

hirify.global Corp. is building satellite infrastructure for the orbital economy, including on-orbit power, infrared laser energy transmission, and secure high-bandwidth optical data systems.

What you will do

• Define the technical vision, roadmap, and system architecture for avionics across spacecraft platforms.
• Lead the design and development of flight computers, peripheral interfaces, EMI/EMC, embedded architectures, and integrated testing infrastructure.
• Drive avionics development from concept through design, integration, validation, qualification, and flight readiness.
• Build and lead an avionics engineering team while setting technical direction and development standards.
• Establish hardware-in-the-loop, simulation, testing, validation, and qualification strategies.
• Guide component selection, vendor partnerships, manufacturing processes, and system-level trade studies across performance, cost, mass, and power.

Requirements

• 10+ years of avionics engineering experience.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• Experience designing and shipping embedded or avionics systems in production environments.
• Strong background in RTOS, microcontrollers, SoCs, FPGA-based systems, or hardware/software integration.
• Experience leading technical projects or engineering teams with increasing scope and ownership.
• Must satisfy U.S. ITAR requirements, including U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residency, protected individual status, or eligibility to obtain required U.S. authorizations.

Nice to have

• Spacecraft or other mission-critical avionics systems that have been designed, built, and flown or deployed.
• Experience with radiation effects and mitigation strategies, SWaP constraints, and deterministic real-time systems.
• Hands-on experience with SPI, I2C, CAN, UART, Ethernet, or SpaceWire.
• Experience with telemetry, command, and data handling systems, HITL, simulation, and automated test systems.
• Experience building high-performing teams and integrating systems with GNC, RF, power, and other spacecraft disciplines.

Culture & Benefits

• Equity in hirify.global Corp.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and eligible dependents.
• 401(k) retirement savings plan.
• Paid time off, 10 paid holidays, and paid parental leave.
• Relocation assistance if applicable.
• Daily lunch in the office and a stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks.