Director of Avionics

Satellite imagery is a historically-scarce resource, whose adoption has been slowed by an unbalanced relationship between price and resolution. In theory, frequent, ultra high-resolution imagery of Earth has near infinite applications; in reality, only a sliver of that potential has been realized.

Albedo aims to be the catalyst in unlocking satellite imagery’s latent potential, hoping to expand current applications and propel the discovery of new use cases. Whether our imagery is being used to reduce wildfire risk, assess the environmental impact of global forestry, contribute to timely 3D reconstructions of urban areas, or monitor carbon emissions from industrial power plants, our mission is to get better data into the hands of decision makers fast. We’re modernizing how satellite imagery is used by providing near real-time access to our ultra-high resolution data.

What We’re Up To: Albedo is developing a novel approach to the earth observation industry, both in space and with our business model. We are intentionally doing things differently by taking (calculated) risks, trying new things, and moving with speed. Our team believes satellite imagery is a valuable resource that should be made accessible, in every sense of the word. We are committed to our customers, ensuring that what we’re building is what they want. We are playing at the edges of how traditional New Space technologies have been approached, and we want to shake up the industry as it stands today.

Who We’re Looking For: Albedo is launching next-generation, ultra high-resolution imaging satellites to service a global audience through a modern, cloud-based product interface. In order to achieve this goal, we are looking for a team of people who are both passionate about our mission and are willing to put in the work to design, develop, and test an innovative earth observation concept in the commercial industry. The times ahead will be set in a fast-paced, often uncertain environment, but if you are hard-working, kind, and team-oriented, you can expect a rewarding and purposeful experience.

Albedo is looking for a Director of Avionics to join our Space Vehicle team. You are will lead the integration of both COTS and custom hardware solutions and trades, and manage the hardware team underneath you to integrate Albedo’s high-performance FSW into our Avionics suites. Most importantly, you champion great hardware design and test principles and act like a team-first contributor and communicator.

What You'll Do: -Define and support Albedo’s satellite bus and avionics architecture

-Act as a responsible engineer for COTS and other Albedo flight hardware, through mission-specific conception, qualification, and ultimately flight operations

-Provide technical leadership across the organization, manage related risk and change across the program, drive new technology introduction, and provide mentoring for less senior engineers

-Be the main POC for HW/SW integration within Albedo’s satellite bus

-Own system, mechanical, and electrical architecture trades, product requirements, component selection, design analysis, schematic capture, prototyping, bring-up, design documentation, manufacturing planning, and production test for avionics designs

-Develop and/or review electronic designs encompassing flight computers, power systems, guidance & navigation, sensors & actuators, and radio communications

-Make early hardware prototypes to prove approaches and pay down risk, as required

-Collaborate with HW and SW team members to bring up brand-new spacecraft systems, including FPGAs and microcontrollers

-Supervise and guide external engineering resources and vendors

Ideal Skills and Experience: -B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in electrical engineering, computer science, or related field and 4+ years experience as an avionics engineer in a team environment

-Strong practical experience in two or more of these HW areas: Digital/microcontroller design, analog design, power, and driver electronics, sensing and measurement, RF design.

-Familiarity with microcontroller I/O and communication buses (UART/SPI/I2C/CAN/Ethernet), microcontrollers and processors, FPGAs, high-speed memory, advanced digital interface buses, multiple networking architectures, and point of load converters

-Integration and control of third-party HW devices

-Collaborated with SW engineers to develop intelligent HW+SW designs and products

-Developed designs for extreme-environment (e.g. vibration, thermal, vacuum, ESD), and solid working knowledge of EMI/EMC underlying physics and specifications, along with best practices for design, and strategies for addressing test exceedances

-Process and test automation using scripting languages and software infrastructure, data review, and design analysis, preferably in MATLAB or Python

-Expertise in embedded firmware development in C/C++

-High level of proficiency with lab equipment for development testing of circuits and components, including sophisticated test definition, troubleshooting, data collection, and data reduction techniques

-Proficient at board-level rework in support of development testing

-Experience producing high-rate designs that are optimized for manufacturability and cost

Compensation and Benefits: -Employee-friendly equity compensation

-Remote-first, asynchronous culture with flexible working hours

-4% direct matching 401k

-Insurance: Medical, Vision, Dental, Mental Health

-Parental leave and childcare coverage

-Relocation bonus for moving to our Denver, CO HQ

-20 paid vacation days, yours from day one

-10 company holidays and unlimited sick days

-$100 monthly wellness benefit

-Team retreats to build relationships in-person