Senior Avionics Systems Engineer

Are you ready to take your career to new heights?

At D-Orbit, we’re 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 frontier—profitably and sustainably.

As a member of our team, you’ll 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 what’s 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 (Space Wire, 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 Ph D 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 Space Wire 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 environment—comfortable 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 €45,000–€65,000 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

Here’s how our hiring process works—simple and straightforward

• Application review: We go through all applications, but we’ll only reach out to candidates who closely match what we’re looking for.

If you don’t hear from us, it means we’re 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, you’ll have one or two technical interviews, focused on your skills and how you approach challenges relevant to the role.

• Offer: If all goes well, we’ll 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 we’d like and updates might be a bit slow.

If you’ve got any questions, just reach out to us!

We’re 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 don’t 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, but it also leads to better decision making, innovation, and overall success.

We actively strive to build a culture where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work, and where all voices are heard and valued.

We are dedicated to creating a workplace where everyone feels safe, supported, and empowered to share their ideas, and where everyone is given equal opportunities to grow and excel.

We believe that our differences make us stronger, and we will continue to work diligently to create an inclusive culture at D-Orbit that reflects this belief.