Lead, Avionics Survivability Engineer
Relativity Space · Long Beach, United States · 22d ago
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 Survivability Engineer, you will lead the survivability team responsible for ensuring Terran R's electrical and electronic systems can withstand the harsh environments of launch and spaceflight. Your team will oversee electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), radiation effects, and EEE (Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical) component reliability across the entire vehicle—from individual avionics components to vehicle-level system integration. You will drive analysis, test planning, qualification campaigns, and verification activities to ensure compliance with mission requirements and industry standards. This is a highly cross-functional role requiring coordination across avionics, propulsion, structures, GNC, flight software, and external stakeholders to establish survivability requirements, assess risks, and implement mitigation strategies. A strong candidate for this role will combine deep technical expertise in EMC, radiation effects, or physics with proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, manage complex test programs, and influence design decisions across the entire vehicle architecture.
About You:
- Bachelor's degree in Physics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field; advanced degree preferred
- 7+ years of experience in survivability engineering for harsh environments and mission-critical applications (including, but not limited to, launch vehicles, spacecraft, aircraft, or defense systems)
- Technical background in at least two of the following domains: EMC/EMI, radiation effects (TID, SEE, displacement damage), or EEE component reliability and parts engineering
- Working knowledge of the space environment and related effects including radiation belts, solar particle events, galactic cosmic rays, vacuum, thermal extremes, and electromagnetic environments
- Experience leading cross-functional teams and coordinating technical efforts across multiple engineering disciplines and internal customers
- Experience driving survivability requirements definition, risk assessments, and mitigation strategies from early design through qualification and flight
- Experience with industry standards such as MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-464, NASA EEE-INST-002, ECSS standards, or equivalent
- Experience planning and overseeing complex test programs including EMC testing, radiation testing, and component qualification
- Strong communication skills with ability to influence design decisions and advocate for survivability considerations across the organization
Nice to haves but not required:
- Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in Physics, Electrical Engineering, or related field with focus on electromagnetics, radiation physics, or materials science
- Hands-on experience with EMC test facilities, radiation test facilities (proton/heavy ion accelerators), or environmental test chambers
- Familiarity with electromagnetic simulation tools (CST, FEKO, HFSS)
- Experience with parts selection, derating, and reliability prediction methodologies (FMECA, Reliability Block Diagrams, Physics of Failure)
- Knowledge of single event effects (SEE) mitigation techniques including EDAC, triple modular redundancy, and radiation-hardened design
- Experience with destructive physical analysis (DPA) and failure analysis of electronic components
- Familiarity with launch vehicle or spacecraft-specific standards and requirements (SMC-S-016, SSCMAN 91-710, RCC319-19, NASA-STD-8739.10)
- Experience establishing test facilities, laboratories, or qualification infrastructure
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 accommodations@relativityspace.com.
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.