Head of Avionics

HEAD OF AVIONICS About Cowboy Space Corp.: Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit to collect sunlight and enable a new class of capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute, to transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit compute to delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data. By rethinking how energy and data are generated and distributed in space, we’re unlocking entirely new ways to operate both in orbit and on Earth. Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood), Cowboy Space Corp. is backed by leading investors and built by a team from top aerospace and defense organizations. We’re moving quickly to solve complex technical challenges and build a new category of space infrastructure. About the role: We are looking for a Head of Avionics to lead the design, development, and integration of avionics systems across our spacecraft platform. This role will own the architecture and execution of avionics systems, including flight computers and critical interfaces that enable control, communication, and power management on orbit. You will define systems that operate in real-time, safety-critical environments under strict constraints around power, thermal, and radiation, working closely with hardware, integration, and operation teams to deliver reliable and scalable systems. This is a critical leadership role with significant ownership over system architecture, team building, and execution. Responsibilities - Define the technical vision and roadmap for avionics across spacecraft platforms - Own system architecture across avionics, hardware interfaces, and system integration - Lead the design and development of avionics systems, peripheral interfaces, EMI/EMC, embedded architecture, and rapid integrated testing infrastructure. - Build and lead a team of avionics engineers, setting technical direction and development standards - Ensure robust communication across subsystems and subsystem leads - Drive end-to-end development from concept through design, integration, validation, and flight readiness - Collaborate cross-functionally with other spacecraft teams to ensure seamless system integration - Establish testing, validation, and qualification strategies for avionics systems, including hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and simulation environments - Ensure robust communication across subsystems and subsystem leads - Optimize systems for performance within constraints of power, thermal, and radiation environments - Guide component selection, vendor partnerships, and manufacturing processes for avionics hardware - Participate in system-level trade studies to balance performance, cost, mass, and power - Represent avionics in design reviews (PDR, CDR) and executive-level discussions Basic Qualifications - 10+ years of experience in avionics engineering - Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field - Experience designing and shipping embedded or avionics systems in production environments - Strong background in one or more of the following: - Real-time operating systems (RTOS) - Microcontrollers, SoCs, or FPGA-based systems - Hardware/software integration - Experience leading technical projects or engineering teams with increasing scope and ownership - Strong understanding of system architecture and embedded system design principles Preferred Qualifications - Designed, built, and flown (or deployed) avionics or embedded systems for spacecraft or other mission-critical systems - Deep understanding of radiation effects (SEE, TID) and have implemented mitigation strategies at the system and component level - Designed systems under aggressive SWaP constraints and made hard tradeoffs between performance, reliability, and resource usage - Hands-on experience bringing up and debugging hardware and embedded systems using common interfaces (SPI, I