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Head of Electrical & Avionics Engineering 

Bothell, WA

About Portal

Portal Space Systems is on a mission to expand humanity’s freedom of movement in space. We’re building the spacecraft that makes that mission possible. From our Bothell, WA headquarters, we design vehicles with the maneuverability, resilience, and adaptability needed for the next era of orbital operations. Every system we build is in service of a simple idea: space should be more accessible, responsive, and capable. Joining Portal means stepping into a team that believes in bold engineering, fast iteration, and the power of small groups to change what’s possible. If you want your work to directly shape the future of in-space mobility, join us.

We are hiring a Head of Electrical & Avionics Engineering who will own Portal’s spacecraft electrical and avionics function including electrical architecture, power generation and distribution, RF/communications hardware, sensors, actuators, board-level electronics, avionics interfaces, and EMI/EMC technical ownership. This role will function as the authority for electrical and avionics engineering as Portal scales. 

You will work closely with Systems Engineering, Software/GNC/Autonomy, Systems Integration & Test, Vehicle Design, Build/Integration/Test, Propulsion, Flight Dynamics, and Chief Engineers to ensure electrical and avionics designs support vehicle-level requirements, integration, verification, and mission closure.  

Core Responsibilities  

Electrical & Avionics Architecture  

  • Own spacecraft electrical and avionics architecture across vehicle programs, including power generation, energy storage interfaces, power distribution, command/data interfaces, RF/communications hardware, sensors, actuators, and avionics control interfaces.   
  • Define electrical architecture trades in partnership with Chief Engineers, Systems Engineering, Software/GNC/Autonomy, Flight Dynamics, Propulsion, and Vehicle Design.   
  • Own technical decisions for avionics hardware architecture, power management, board-level design, RF/communications interfaces, harnessing, and electrical integration boundaries.   
  • Establish electrical design standards, interface expectations, grounding/bonding approaches, EMI/EMC design practices, electrical margin philosophy, and hardware review expectations.   
  • Ensure avionics and electrical designs are compatible with vehicle-level configuration, integration flow, environmental test, acceptance test, and launch operations.   

Power, RF, Boards, Sensors, and Interfaces  

  • Lead technical ownership of spacecraft EPS and power generation systems, including power budgets, distribution architecture, load management, battery/energy storage interfaces, and power behavior during mission-critical operations.   
  • Own RF and TT&C electrical hardware interfaces in coordination with Systems Engineering, Software/GNC/Autonomy, Flight Dynamics, and mission/customer stakeholders.   
  • Lead board design ownership, including schematics, layout coordination, component selection, bring-up, firmware-adjacent hardware interfaces, and production release support.   
  • Own sensor and actuator electrical interfaces, including signal integrity, compatibility with flight software and GNC needs, integration constraints, and verification approach.   
  • Define and mature harnessing, connector, grounding, shielding, and avionics enclosure requirements in partnership with Vehicle Design and Systems Integration & Test.   

Verification, Integration, and Test Support  

  • Partner with Systems Engineering to define electrical and avionics verification methods, interface control documentation, test coverage, and requirement closure logic.   
  • Partner with Systems Integration & Test on flatsat, HITL, EGSE, hardware/software/mechanical bring-up, interface checkouts, integrated debug, and cross-functional defect triage. Your org model separates Systems Engineering as the control process owner from SIT as the integrated bring-up owner, so this role should feed both cleanly.   
  • Own electrical readiness for vehicle-level integration, power-on testing, board bring-up, RF checkout, harness continuity, electrical functional test, and EMI/EMC-related troubleshooting.   
  • Support anomaly investigations, nonconformance disposition, root-cause analysis, and corrective actions involving avionics hardware, power systems, RF, sensors, actuators, harnessing, or electrical interfaces.   
  • Ensure electrical and avionics work products are released, reviewed, and controlled in a way that supports program configuration and Chief Engineer closure.   

Functional Leadership & Team Development  

  • Build and manage the Electrical & Avionics team, including hardware architecture, power management, board design, RF/communications, harness/interface ownership, and hardware integration support.   
  • Define team priorities, staffing plans, review cadences, technical standards, and execution rhythms consistent with Portal’s flat functional organization.   
  • Hire, manage, coach, and develop electrical and avionics engineers while maintaining clear ownership of technical quality, execution, and staffing.   
  • Create the functional infrastructure needed for a fast-moving spacecraft startup: design reviews, release standards, component selection practices, test readiness criteria, bring-up checklists, and lessons-learned loops.  You will also coordinate with other functional leaders to stay ahead of engineering challenges and drive a culture of proactive collaboration. 

What You Bring To Portal  

  • Ability to define and communicate spacecraft electrical and avionics architecture across power, RF, boards, sensors, actuators, harnessing, and embedded hardware interfaces.   
  • Strong technical judgment in electrical design trades, power budgeting, signal integrity, grounding/bonding, EMI/EMC, component selection, board design, and hardware integration.   
  • Ability to lead technical reviews and make clear decisions under schedule pressure while maintaining strong cross-functional collaboration with other engineering teams, Chief Engineers, and Program leadership. 
  • Ability to translate vehicle-level requirements into actionable electrical designs, interface definitions, verification plans, and test approaches.   
  • Ability to mentor engineers, set priorities, resolve technical conflicts, and maintain accountability for team output.   
  • Clear written and verbal communication for design reviews, anomaly investigations, test readiness reviews, and executive/program-level technical discussions.  

Basic Qualifications  

  • Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent hands-on experience.
  • Experience leading electrical, avionics, or hardware engineering for spacecraft, launch vehicles, satellites, aircraft, robotics, defense systems, or other complex embedded hardware systems.   
  • Experience owning or contributing to system-level electrical architecture, including power distribution, avionics hardware, sensors, actuators, RF/communications, boards, harnessing, and electrical interfaces.   
  • Experience designing, reviewing, releasing, integrating, and testing board-level electronics or avionics hardware.   
  • Experience hiring and managing engineers, technical leads, or cross-functional hardware teams.   

  

Preferred Qualifications  

  • Experience with electrical integration, hardware bring-up, system test, environmental test, EMI/EMC troubleshooting, or hardware/software integration.   
  • Experience working across Systems Engineering, mechanical design, software, GNC, test, manufacturing/build, and program leadership.   
  • Familiarity with spacecraft or aerospace development practices, including requirements flowdown, ICDs, design reviews, qualification/acceptance testing, and configuration-controlled hardware release.   

 

 

ITAR Statement

This position may involve access to technical data and defense-related materials controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Eligibility to access ITAR-controlled items requires that candidates be U.S. persons, which includes U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and other protected individuals as defined by U.S. law. Employment is contingent upon verification of ITAR eligibility and, where applicable, obtaining any required export authorization or license.

 

Equal Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

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