Lead Engineer, Avionics Test Engineering

relativity

Long Beach, California, United States · Long Beach · United States

Posted Aug 6, 2026

Other
Avionics Engineering

Job description

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’s structure intentionally combines 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 a leader of a portion of the Avionics Test team, you will manage a team of test engineers owning the design, development and implementation of fully automated test systems supporting the production of Terran R electronics
You will work with cross-functional partner hardware and software design teams in support of creating manufacturing test assets to complete acceptance and qualification testing
A strong candidate for the role will have a deep technical background in electronics testing and will coach individual engineers in technical and non-technical best practices while fostering a culture of collaboration and high-performance

About You:

Undergraduate or graduate degree (BS/MS/PhD) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
5+ years of experience with electronics hardware simulation, automation, and/or test • Experience leading engineers in best-practices and domain-specific technical principles
Experience with ownership of complex test system design for motor drives, DC-DC converters, load switches, high voltage DC electronics, and/or high voltage energy storage
Experience in strategic planning, design, development, debugging, and maintenance of test systems in a production environment
Experience with environmental and qualification testing, including vibration, thermal, shock, and EMI/EMC validation

Nice to haves but not required:

Experience with a schematic capture & PCB design tool such as Altium Designer
Experience with analog sensors such as pressure transducers, RTDs, and accelerometers
Experience with embedded software development and integration for avionics systems
Experience with scripting languages such as Python or MATLAB for data acquisition/recording and analysis
Experience with wire harness design
Familiarity with CAD tools such as NX

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.

Hiring Range:

$151,000—$227,000 USD

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.