Lead Hardware Engineer (Controllers)

Relativity Space — Long Beach, US — stage

What our tracking knows about this posting

Published on 3 September 2026 · first appeared in our records on 3 September 2026.

Stable posting: first seen on 3 September 2026, with no abnormal reposting.

Advertised salary: 227000 USD.

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<div class="content-intro"><p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our&nbsp;Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch&nbsp;capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new&nbsp;opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond&nbsp;the known.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">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 </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now&nbsp;is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and&nbsp;the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most&nbsp;meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.</span></p></div><p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong><span data-contrast="none">About the Team:&nbsp;</span></strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">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.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong><span data-contrast="none">About the Role:</span></strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">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.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong><span data-contrast="none">About You:</span></strong></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">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)</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Strong technical background in mixed-signal and analog circuit design, including sensor signal conditioning, instrumentation amplifiers, ADCs, DACs, and filter design</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Experience designing control electronics for actuating loads such as solenoid valves, brushless DC motors, pyrotechnic firing circuits, and similar high-reliability mechanisms</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Experience with sensor interfacing across diverse types including pressure transducers, thermocouples, RTDs, strain gauges, flow meters, and position sensors</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">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</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Experience mentoring and leading small teams of engineers in technical and non-technical best practices</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Experience driving rigorous engineering processes and initiatives (requirements capture, design reviews, design verification, FMEA, etc.)</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Experience working with highly cross-functional teams (mechanical, thermal, electrical, software, fluids, propulsion) to develop integrated controller solutions</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><strong><span data-contrast="none">Nice to haves but not required:&nbsp;</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;134233118&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}">&nbsp;</span></span></p> <ul> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Familiarity with embedded software development and integration for real-time control systems</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Experience with design for reliability and manufacturability of avionics hardware including DFMEA, accelerated life testing, and qualification testing</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Technical expertise in power electronics including motor drives and control, high-current switching circuits, DC-DC converters, and protection circuitry</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Experience with communication protocols and interfaces (CAN, RS-422/485, SPI, I2C, Ethernet) for distributed control systems</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Hands-on experience with environmental testing (vibration, shock, thermal cycling, EMC) and test fixture design</span></li> <li style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Knowledge of safety-critical design practices and standards (e.g., DO-254, MIL-STD-1553, IPC-A-610)</span></li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="description"><p><span style="font-size: 14px;">At Relativity Space, we are commi