Senior Avionics Systems Engineer

Are you ready to take your career to new heights At D-Orbit were pioneering the future of space logistics and transportation. Established in 2011 our company has been at the forefront of helping businesses unlock the full potential of the final frontierprofitably and sustainably.

As a member of our team youll have the opportunity to work alongside a diverse group of highly skilled individuals all driven by a shared passion for innovation and excellence. So if you are passionate about space and ready to take your ambition to new heights join us in our global mission to push the boundaries of whats possible!

We are looking for a Senior Avionics Systems Engineer to join our Avionic Systems Engineering team. The ideal candidate brings over 10 years of hands-on experience in avionics or complex electronic systems engineering with a demonstrated ability to lead and mentor engineering teams. This role calls for a technical leader who can own end-to-end avionics system design driving architectural decisions coordinating cross-functional activities and representing the avionics system at program level.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and drive the end-to-end avionics platform architecture (functional logical physical) including HW/SW/FW partitioning resource budgets and scalability strategy across multiple satellite platforms and mission variants.
• Lead architectural trade studies evaluate design options and make authoritative technical decisions balancing performance reliability reuse cost and schedule.
• Define and enforce the onboard logical architecture: functions data flows interfaces operational modes and FDIR concepts.
• Maintain radiation-awareness at system level and guide subsystem teams in appropriate design margins and mitigation strategies.
• Lead system-level requirements definition and interface control for power generation storage distribution and protection. Review PCDU/PDU design and manage power budgets and load profiles.
• Lead system-level requirements definition and interface control for Communication and RF domain including review of Comm architecture and link budgets.
• Drive the internal development of Data Handling equipment through demonstrated knowledge and several years of experience in such discipline including definition of the internal electronic design of the related equipment in a space domain
• Own OBC/OBDH architectural definition data bus topology (SpaceWire CAN-FD MIL-STD-1553 etc.) onboard time management and telemetry/telecommand (TM/TC) design.
• Define harness system requirements connector and cable specifications signal integrity constraints and shielding/grounding philosophy. Support harness design reviews and integration.
• Define and own avionics software requirements and architectural constraints (BSP RTOS middleware application layer). Interface closely with the embedded SW team to ensure compliance with system-level timing determinism and FDIR requirements. Familiar with ECSS-E-ST-40 and space SW development standards.
• Capture decompose and allocate stakeholder needs into system and subsystem requirements with full end-to-end traceability from mission needs through design to verification evidence.
• Own requirements consistency and change impact assessment across the avionics baseline.
• Lead and coordinate a team of avionics system and subsystem engineers; assign activities monitor progress and ensure technical quality of team deliverables.
• Mentor junior and mid-level engineers fostering a culture of technical excellence structured problem-solving and continuous improvement.
• Participate in design reviews (PDR CDR TRR etc.) both as reviewer and as presenter ensuring all avionics entry/exit criteria are met.

Required Skills & Knowledge

• Education: MSc (or equivalent) in Aerospace Engineering Electrical/Electronic Engineering Computer Engineering or related STEM discipline. A PhD in a relevant field is considered a plus.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive experience in systems engineering for avionics or complex electronic systems with a significant share of that experience in the space sector (small/medium satellites launchers or ground systems).
• Demonstrated track record of leading technical teams or acting as system/subsystem lead on flight programs from early phases through AIV/AIT and launch.
• Proven experience covering at least three of the four avionics domains: EPS CDHS harness and avionics SW.
• Familiarity with typical avionics interfaces/protocols (as applicable): CAN/CAN-FD UART SPI I²C Ethernet; space-oriented protocols such as SpaceWire and MIL-STD-1553 are a plus.
• Working knowledge of structured engineering standards/processes: ECSS engineering and product assurance principles (preferred) and/or transferable safety-critical frameworks such as DO-178C / DO-254 / ARP4754A IEC 61508 ISO 26262.
• Strong technical documentation skills (requirements architectures ICDs verification artifacts).
• Languages: Fluent English (written and spoken) is mandatory; Italian is a plus.
• Deep knowledge of AI tools.

Preferred Experience

• Hands-on experience with space avionics building blocks (e.g. OBC/OBDH PCDU/PDU data handling IO modules timing/synchronization distribution).
• Participation in environmental test campaigns (e.g. thermal-vac vibration/shock EMC) qualification/acceptance planning and related documentation.
• Experience supporting system integration campaigns and failure investigations (lab/production) including structured anomaly management.
• Experience contributing to platform/product-line development (reuse strategies configuration variants scalable verification/acceptance).

Soft Skills

• Strong analytical thinking systems mindset and structured problem solving.
• Ability to thrive in a structured but fast-paced environmentcomfortable following established processes/toolchain for quality and repeatability while staying flexible and creative to achieve ambitious goals.
• Clear communicator able to align multidisciplinary teams and drive decisions with evidence.
• Ownership mindset strong prioritization and ability to manage multiple parallel activities.

We offer a base salary range of gross per year for this role depending on experience and location plus a performance-based variable component. Final offer may vary based on overall fit and internal equity.

Additional benefits:

• Meal vouchers
• Wellhub platform offering a wide range of fitness wellness and wellbeing services
• Serenis platform including unlimited individual psychotherapy nutrition and coaching sessions.

Hiring Process:

Heres how our hiring process workssimple and straightforward:

• Application review: We go through all applications but well only reach out to candidates who closely match what were looking for.
  If you dont hear from us it means were not moving forward with your application at this time but we may consider you profile for more aligned opening in the future!
• First chat: Selected candidates will have an initial meeting with the people team so we can get to know each other and talk through mutual expectations motivation for change and goals.
• Technical interviews: Next youll have one or two technical interviews focused on your skills and how you approach challenges relevant to the role.
• Offer: If all goes well well send you an offer! Sometimes this stage can take a bit of time as we like to carefully consider each candidate and make sure the fit with the team is just right.

We do our best to get back to everyone we interview but sometimes things take longer than wed like and updates might be a bit slow. If youve got any questions just reach out to us!

Were excited to get to know you and see if you might be the next person to help us shaping the future of space!

Extra-UE applicants:

This is NOT a full remote job so you need VISA to work in Italy.
At this time we can only consider applicants who already have the legal right to work in the country where the role is advertised.

Some activities must be carried out in our facilities many others are location-independent and they can be performed effectively even remotely. This is why we dont measure the performance of people by how many hours they spend at the office: we only measure the outcome.

At D-Orbit diversity and inclusivity are not just values they are integral to our mission and the way we operate. We are committed to fostering an environment where all individuals are respected valued and celebrated for their unique backgrounds perspectives and experiences. We believe that a diverse and inclusive workplace is not only the right thing to do b...