Senior Avionics Engineer
About Poseidon Aerospace:
Poseidon Aerospace is reimagining how the world moves goods. We build and operate full-size autonomous cargo aircraft - capable of carrying two tons of payload over a thousand nautical miles. From remote communities to contested logistics operations, our platforms unlock a new cost curve for air freight, making it faster, cheaper, and accessible anywhere it's needed. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with locations in Washington DC, Oregon, and Maine; we're building something consequential.
About the role
Avionics is the electrical and electronic hardware on our cargo aircraft, its mission systems, and the ground control station that operates it. As a Senior Avionics Engineer you will own that architecture. You will decide how the aircraft is powered, what computers and actuators it flies with, how its systems communicate, and how it behaves when hardware fails. You will carry those decisions through design, build, qualification, and flight test, and set the technical bar for the engineers around you.
Responsibilities
Own the electrical and avionics architecture of the aircraft, mission systems, and ground control station, including redundancy and failure behavior
Define the power system architecture, including generation, storage, distribution, and protection, and own the electrical load analysis
Lead selection and qualification of flight computers, mission computers, actuators, sensors, radios, and datalinks
Define the data bus and network architecture across the aircraft and ground control station
Own interface control documents between avionics, flight software, GNC, propulsion, and airframe
Set standards for schematics, wire harness design, grounding, bonding, and shielding
Plan and lead EMI/EMC and environmental qualification testing
Define the flight test instrumentation architecture with the flight test team
Lead root cause analysis of avionics hardware failures in ground and flight test, including travel to our flight test site
Support system safety assessments and certification evidence for avionics hardware
Manage avionics suppliers and outside test labs
Lead design reviews and mentor other avionics engineers
Required Qualifications
B.S. in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience
5+ years designing and integrating avionics or electrical systems on aircraft, spacecraft, or comparable vehicles
Owned the electrical or avionics architecture of a vehicle or major subsystem from concept through test
Designed power distribution systems, including circuit protection and load analysis
Took avionics hardware through integration and ground or flight test on a real vehicle
Experience with redundancy design and failure mode analysis for safety-critical hardware
Led design reviews and set technical direction for other engineers
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with uncrewed aircraft, including command and control datalinks and ground control station hardware
Experience integrating mission systems or payloads
Experience with fly-by-wire actuation systems
Experience qualifying hardware to DO-160 or developing hardware under DO-254
Familiarity with ARP4754A and ARP4761 system safety processes
Familiarity with MIL-STD-704, MIL-STD-461, and AS50881
Experience with flight test instrumentation and data acquisition systems
Private pilot certificate or Part 107 certificate
Why this role
Avionics connects every system on the aircraft: power, propulsion, flight controls, mission systems, and the link to the ground. You will make the architecture decisions for all of it, at a stage where those decisions are still yours to make. You will see your design fly on an aircraft that carries two tons.
What you get from us
Competitive salary and meaningful early-stage equity
Relocation support if applicable
Employee Health Benefit Plans
6% Retirement matching
Flexible PTO
Free lunches, snacks, and a stocked fridge at our offices
AI tools and subscriptions
