LEAD ENGINEER - SR. RESEARCH ENGINEER - Spaceflight Instrumentation Engineer - Durham, NH

Who We Are: The SwRI Department of Earth, Oceans, and Space (located on the University of New Hampshire campus in Durham, NH) offers exciting aerospace engineering opportunities. We offer a unique collaborative environment involving scientists and engineers at both SwRI and UNH. We design and fabricate spaceflight hardware, including new instrumentation and custom-designed avionics. Active programs include science missions (funded by NASA and NOAA) in space weather, heliophysics, astrophysics, and Earth science, as well as commercial spaceflight programs.

Objectives of this Role: Lead and support the design, analysis, verification, and testing of digital and analog electronics for spaceflight instrumentation, with an emphasis on FPGA-based electronics and firmware for detector readout, data acquisition, command and control, signal processing, and comms. Participate in instrument electronics development from architecture and requirements definition through detailed design, fabrication, integration, verification, and delivery.

Design, develop, and bring up spaceflight circuit boards, including high-speed digital interfaces, memory interfaces, and power distribution, and support detector and focal-plane electronics such as MCP detectors and CCD/CMOS sensors. Work with multidisciplinary science and engineering teams to establish instrument requirements, develop electrical architectures, and ensure designs meet instrument and spacecraft interface and performance requirements.

Participate in technical reviews, provide engineering documentation and technical justification to customers, and contribute to proposals, internal R&D, and maturation of new electronics and instrumentation technologies.

Daily and Monthly Responsibilities: Lead and support the design, development, and implementation of digital electronics and FPGA firmware for spaceflight instrumentation, including detector readout, data acquisition, command and control, and signal processing. Design, fabricate, bring up, and test electronic circuit boards and associated hardware, including high-speed digital interfaces, memory interfaces, power distribution, and supporting analog circuitry.

Work with scientists and multidisciplinary engineering teams to translate instrument requirements into electrical architectures and hardware designs, ensuring compatibility with detector systems, spacecraft interfaces, and payload requirements. Lead and support electronics integration, verification, and testing throughout the instrument development lifecycle, from initial design through hardware delivery. Participate in internal and customer design reviews.

Requirements: Requires a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering. Advanced degree preferred. 5+ years: Demonstrated experience designing spaceflight electronics, including digital design and hands-on FPGA development in VHDL or Verilog. Experience with PCB design, assembly, and bring-up as well as integration, verification, and lab testing. Proficient experience collaborating with science and engineering teams. A valid/clear driver's license is required.