Lead Hardware Engineer (Controllers)
Relativity Space · Long Beach, California, United States ·
- Seniority
- Lead
- Category
- Hardware
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Salary
- USD 151,000 – 227,000 / year
Lead a small team of electrical engineers designing custom avionics controllers for Relativity Space's Terran R launch vehicle, owning the full lifecycle from design through flight operations. Core work centers on mixed-signal/analog circuit design, sensor interfacing, and control electronics for engines, fluids, and separation systems.
At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.
Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.
About the Team:
The Avionics team is responsible for the full lifecycle of Terran R's nervous system, designing, building, testing, installing, and operating the hardware that connects and controls every major electrical system on the vehicle and ground. The team leverages close partnership between avionics design, manufacturing, and test to enable rapid iteration and feedback loops. Engineers are deeply embedded into other functions within Relativity, working closely with propulsion, GNC, fluids, and stage engineering teams to ensure seamless integration and operation. Now is a unique time to join: you'll get to help shape Terran R's fundamental avionics architecture and be given a high degree of ownership on components that will fly.
About the Role:
As the Lead Avionics Controllers Hardware Engineer, you will lead a small, nimble team of electrical engineers designing custom avionics controllers that interface with critical systems across the Terran R launch vehicle. Your team's controllers will command and control rocket engines, manage fluid and tank pressurization systems, interface with customer payloads, and operate separation mechanisms. You will guide your team through the full product lifecycle including initial design, board bring-up, design verification, qualification, initial flight production, integration, and vehicle operations. You will work closely with cross-functional partner teams across propulsion, fluids, stage engineering, and GNC to ensure your controllers meet the demanding requirements of the overall vehicle. A strong candidate for this role will combine deep technical expertise in mixed-signal and analog circuit design with proven ability to mentor engineers, lead root cause investigations, and foster a culture of collaboration and high performance in a fast-paced environment.
About You:
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
- 5+ years of experience in electronics design for harsh environments and mission-critical applications (including, but not limited to, launch vehicles, spacecraft, aircraft, or robotics)
- Strong technical background in mixed-signal and analog circuit design, including sensor signal conditioning, instrumentation amplifiers, ADCs, DACs, and filter design
- Experience designing control electronics for actuating loads such as solenoid valves, brushless DC motors, pyrotechnic firing circuits, and similar high-reliability mechanisms
- Experience with sensor interfacing across diverse types including pressure transducers, thermocouples, RTDs, strain gauges, flow meters, and position sensors
- Demonstrated experience leading root cause investigations using RCCA (Root Cause Corrective Action) processes and methodologies such as 5 Whys, fishbone diagrams, and fault tree analysis
- Experience mentoring and leading small teams of engineers in technical and non-technical best practices
- Experience driving rigorous engineering processes and initiatives (requirements capture, design reviews, design verification, FMEA, etc.)
- Experience working with highly cross-functional teams (mechanical, thermal, electrical, software, fluids, propulsion) to develop integrated controller solutions
Nice to haves but not required:
- Familiarity with embedded software development and integration for real-time control systems
- Experience with design for reliability and manufacturability of avionics hardware including DFMEA, accelerated life testing, and qualification testing
- Technical expertise in power electronics including motor drives and control, high-current switching circuits, DC-DC converters, and protection circuitry
- Experience with communication protocols and interfaces (CAN, RS-422/485, SPI, I2C, Ethernet) for distributed control systems
- Hands-on experience with environmental testing (vibration, shock, thermal cycling, EMC) and test fixture design
- Knowledge of safety-critical design practices and standards (e.g., DO-254, MIL-STD-1553, IPC-A-610)
At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.
Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.
If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at [email protected].
Please note: Relativity Space does not accept unsolicited resumes, candidate profiles, or referrals from recruitment agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited submission - via email, our website, social media, or directly to an employee - will be deemed the property of Relativity Space, and no fee will be owed absent a current, fully executed agreement with Talent Acquisition that specifically authorizes submissions for the applicable role.