Avionics Engineer I

Responsibilities

• Design and manage electrical interconnections between avionics systems
• Develop schematic and 3D routing designs for complex flight harnesses
• Generate production-ready schematics, BOMs, manufacturing drawings, and ICDs
• Support system-level electrical architecture development for the Electron launch vehicle
• Execute signal integrity analysis, power budgets, grounding studies, and EMI/EMC assessments
• Design and build prototype harnesses and electrical systems
• Conduct analytical trade-offs to optimize designs for mass, cost, and reliability
• Manage project timelines for avionics systems projects
• Maintain design documentation and manage changes through formal processes
• Support launch campaigns including troubleshooting and real-time anomaly resolution

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related technical discipline
• 1+ years of hands-on experience in hardware development, electrical system design, or electronics test engineering
• Experience with Altium Designer, KiCAD, SolidWorks Electrical, Siemens NX, or RapidHarness
• Experience developing high quality design data including schematics and harness drawings
• Strong understanding of analog and digital electronics, power distribution, and EMI/EMC principles
• Experience with test equipment including oscilloscopes, power supplies, and multimeters
• Proficiency in Python or similar languages for test automation and data analysis
• Ability to design, build, test, and troubleshoot electrical systems in a fast-paced environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency with RS-422, RS-485, SPI, I2C, CAN bus, or Ethernet
• Experience with wire harness design and fabrication to industry standards (IPC-620, NASA-STD 8739.4)
• Experience designing analog, digital, or mixed-signal PCBs
• Familiarity with sensors such as RTDs, thermocouples, and accelerometers
• Experience with configuration management tools

About the Company

Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company delivering responsive launch services, complete spacecraft design and manufacturing, payloads, satellite components, and more – all with the goal of opening access to space.