Principal Digital Hardware Engineer

Salary: $231,000 - 347,000 per year Requirements:

• Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
• 10+ years of experience designing electronics for harsh environments and mission-critical applications, such as launch vehicles, spacecraft, aircraft, or robotics
• Deep expertise in high-speed digital design, including SERDES, PCIe, Ethernet, memory interfaces, and designs involving SoCs, microcontrollers, microprocessors, and FPGAs
• Expertise in signal integrity for high-speed digital links, including stackup design, transmission-line and via modeling, loss and crosstalk management, reflection mitigation, channel analysis, and equalization tradeoffs
• Expertise in power integrity, including PDN design, decoupling, DC IR drop and current-density analysis, frequency-domain impedance analysis, plane resonance mitigation, and power delivery for high-current, low-voltage SoCs and FPGAs
• Experience using eCAD software such as Altium or equivalent
• Experience leading rigorous engineering processes, including requirements capture, design reviews, and design verification
• Experience collaborating with cross-functional teams to develop integrated electronics solutions
• Experience mentoring engineers in best practices and technical principles
• Ability to communicate technical topics to a range of audiences
• Preferred: Familiarity with embedded software development and real-time control system integration
• Preferred: Experience with avionics reliability and manufacturability practices, including DFMEA, accelerated life testing, and qualification testing
• Preferred: Experience verifying high-speed digital links through simulation and testing, including SI/PI simulation, channel simulation, S-parameter analysis, and lab characterization
• Preferred: Ability to correlate simulation models with hardware measurements and apply findings to improve future designs
• Preferred: Hands-on experience with environmental testing and test fixture design
• Preferred: Familiarity with VHDL, Verilog, or SystemVerilog
• Preferred: Familiarity with FPGA toolchains and SoC platforms from vendors such as AMD Xilinx, Intel, or Microchip
• Preferred: Knowledge of safety-critical design practices and standards such as DO-254, MIL-STD-1553, or IPC-A-610

• Design, test, and analyze custom high-speed electronics for the Terran R launch vehicle
• Lead hardware development throughout the product lifecycle, from concept and initial design through board bring-up, verification, qualification, flight production, integration, and vehicle operations
• Collaborate with teams across the company to support sound decisions for the overall vehicle
• Manage hardware projects to deliver reliable systems on schedule for Terran R launches

• Embedded
• Ethernet
• FPGA
• Hardware
• Support
• PCIe
• Robotics
• SystemVerilog
• Verilog
• VHDL
• HyperLynx
• Network

More:

We build rockets to meet current and future needs, with our Terran R vehicle designed to carry customer payloads to orbit. Our Avionics team develops, builds, tests, installs, and operates the hardware that connects and controls the vehicles electrical systems and ground systems. Team members work closely with design, manufacturing, test, propulsion, GNC, fluids, and stage engineering, with substantial ownership and the opportunity to shape Terran Rs avionics architecture and components. This Principal Digital Hardware Engineer role offers the chance to contribute to a developing vehicle, factory, and business in a fast-moving, collaborative environment. We offer competitive salary and equity, paid time off and sick leave, parental leave, and an annual learning and development stipend. The hiring range is $231,000–$347,000 USD; compensation depends on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity.

last updated 42 week of 2026