Lead Electrical Engineer (Avionics)
Impulse Space
Other Engineering
USD 145k-175k / year + Equity
Posted on May 12, 2026
As a Lead Avionics Electrical Engineer, you will be responsible for developing the Avionic systems for Impulse’s next generation of space vehicles. You will manage a team of talented electrical engineers who design and test custom circuit boards, working to rapidly develop high reliability electronics. You will work directly with mission managers, software engineers, propulsion engineers, integration, and customers. You will have the opportunity to contribute to all aspects of spacecraft electronics development, from architecting new systems to building and operating them.
- Department
- Avionics
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Location
- Redondo Beach
- Workplace type
- Onsite
- Compensation
- $145,000 - $175,000 / year
- Reporting To
- Kevin Mikolaitis, Director of Avionics
Responsibilities
- • Drive program execution and schedule
- • Own system trades and analysis, requirement tracking, and risk mitigation
- • Support hardware from concept through design, production, integration, and flight
- • Lead a team of electrical engineers responsible for schematic capture, component selection, analysis, PCB layout, prototyping, bring-up, debugging, documentation, manufacturing, and test
- • Establish and maintain high technical standards and mentor less experienced engineers
- • Develop qualification and test campaigns to verify designs meet mission requirements
- • Partner with mission managers, firmware, software, mechanical, manufacturing and test teams
- • Drive changes that make the system more efficient, manufacturable, and reliable
Minimum Qualifications
- • Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field
- • 5+ years professional experience designing electronics for rockets, spacecraft, or other vehicles• Experience with electronic component selection, analysis, simulation, schematics, and layout
- • Knowledge of analog and digital circuit design, power management, microcontrollers, digital and high-speed interfaces (SPI, ethernet, RS-422, etc.)
- • Hands on experience troubleshooting electronics problems at the board level
- • 1+ years of experience leading a team or technical project
Preferred Skills and Experience
- • Master’s degree in electrical engineering or related field
- • Experience with PCBA design in Altium
- • Self-motivated with proven ability to communicate technical challenges, explain rationale and resolve critical issues
- • Experience developing new hardware and owning project schedules
- • Experience with reliability, radiation, EMC and other relevant concepts when designing avionics for spacecraft
- • Experience in a startup or fast paced agile development environment
Additional Information:
Compensation bands are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, technical capabilities and internal equity. In addition to base salary, for full-time hires, you may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of stock options, and access to medical, vision & dental coverage as well as access to a 401(k) retirement plan.
Impulse Space’s spacecraft manufacturing business is subject to U.S. export regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This position requires applicants to be either U.S. Persons (i.e., U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent U.S. resident (green card holder), an individual granted asylum in the U.S., or an individual admitted in U.S. refugee status) or persons eligible to obtain an export license from the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, or other applicable U.S. government agencies. Learn more about the ITAR here.
Impulse Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Impulse Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
About Impulse Space
Impulse Space, the in-space transportation company founded by Tom Mueller, is opening access beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with its fleet of in-space transportation vehicles. The high-energy Helios vehicle unlocks orbits beyond LEO with its powerful Deneb engine, dropping off payloads in MEO, GEO, heliocentric, lunar, and other planetary orbits. The flight-proven Mira vehicle uses a nontoxic, high-impulse chemical propulsion system to offer orbital transport, constellation deployment, and precision reentry services to customers throughout LEO. Led by a team that delivered the most reliable rockets in history, Impulse provides economical and efficient in-space transportation by reliably and rapidly getting customers where they want to go.
Our Hiring Process
Stage 1:
Application Received
Stage 2:
Resume Review
Stage 3:
Intro Phone Interview
Stage 4:
Technical Phone Interview(s)
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