Avionics Test Engineer (Spacecraft)

Inversion was founded in 2021 with the mission to build the first affordable, high cadence return capability for the commercial and defense space industries. With launching to space becoming cheap and frequent, comparable options for return must become available to allow for a robust economy in space. We believe in a future where returning from space is as common as launching to space. Inversion is building reentry vehicles faster and cheaper than ever before through a focus on simplicity.

This next-generation class of space vehicle will finally be able to provide high-frequency return of research, goods, supplies, and equipment that is critical for all future commercial activities and supply chains in space. With launch costs at an all-time low and dropping, now is the time to build these round-trip capabilities. Inversion has ambitious goals with strong financial backing to make this a reality.

As an Inversion Avionics Test Engineer, you will have an instrumental impact on the functionality and performance of our next-generation reentry vehicles. You will own a substantial aspect of the bring-up, testing, evaluation, design, and flight integration of the electronic and harnessing components for our first reentry vehicle. Our space capsule's mission of operating in space and eventually being returned and recovered critically relies on well-designed, characterized and tested, and effectively integrated avionics and harnessing. You'll not only help carry our vehicle over the finish line but also get your hands dirty in the actually assembly and integration of our spacecraft.

Our avionics engineers are responsible for the complete lifecycle of the hardware they create, including development, testing, and integration.

• Plan, execute, and complete avionics development, qualification, and acceptance testing plans including unit testing, HITL (Hardware in the Loop) testing, and integration testing.
• Create flight and ground harness design drawings.
• Work with vendors to source components, materials, and other hardware used in the testing and integration of avionics into the flight vehicle.
• Act as a key coordinator and responsible person for avionics environment testing campaigns.
• Assist in architecting avionics systems for future vehicles.

In addition to contributing to the flight avionics for our upcoming mission, you will also play an instrumental role in helping architect the avionics system for our future vehicle, Arc.

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• 4+ years of experience working with integrating, testing, and designing aerospace electronics.
• Experience using common laboratory equipment such as oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, power supplies, and data acquisition systems.
• Practical and analytical understanding of analog and digital electronics.
• Experience with launch vehicle, satellite, or aircraft harnessing design, construction, and standards.
• Professional experience developing technical drawings and specifications.
• Hands-on experience with wire and harness soldering & PCB assembly.
• Familiarity with programming languages like Python, C/C++, MATLAB, etc.

• Familiarity working with common spacecraft ADCS sensors and propulsion components (star trackers, reaction wheels, thermocouples, resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), pressure transducers, solenoid valves, etc.).
• Experience working with (design and build) of aerospace grade connector and harness standards (IPC-620, MIL-DTL-38999, etc.).
• Experience working with satellite flight computers, power systems, telemetry and communications, critical sensors, controllers, etc.
• Experience implementing mixed-signal circuit boards.
• Experience with Altium Designer (or other PCB design software) and SPICE-based simulators.
• Experience working with closed-loop HITL/HIL (Hardware in the Loop) test setups.
• Experience working in a fast-paced startup environment.

• Position may require extended work hours and weekend work.

• Our office headquarters is located in Torrance, CA.  All jobs require you to work onsite unless otherwise stated in the job description.

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $120,000 - $200,000.  Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.