Avionics Systems Engineer - Avionics
D-Orbit
Software Engineering
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!
Operating in the Technology Unit and reporting to the Head of Systems Engineering Group (with project-level reporting to the Avionics Project Lead Engineers), the Avionics Systems Engineer will be responsible for systems engineering activities supporting the development, integration, verification, and lifecycle evolution of D-Orbit’s avionics suites for New Space missions.
In particular, you will work on D-Orbit’s Avionics platforms—modular, product-oriented avionics building blocks engineered to ensure repeatability and scalability. This platform approach enables reuse across multiple missions and satellite configurations, supporting D-Orbit’s New Space satellite platforms with consistent performance, quality, and manufacturability.
This role requires a balance of structured execution (processes, traceability, toolchain) and fast-paced, creative problem solving to achieve project and company goals.
Key Responsibilities
System Definition, Requirements & Architecture
Capture stakeholder needs and translate them into system/subsystem requirements, including derived requirements and clear acceptance criteria.
Define and maintain the avionics platform architecture (functional, logical, physical), including HW/SW/FW partitioning and resource budgets (power, data, timing, memory, CPU/FPGA utilization).
Drive architectural choices that maximize platform repeatability and scalability (e.g., modularity, interface standardization, product configurations/variants, reuse patterns).
Manage requirements allocation, consistency, and end-to-end traceability from needs → requirements → design → verification evidence.
Interfaces, ICDs & Integration
Define, document, and control interfaces across the avionics platform and with satellite subsystems (e.g., power, OBDH, AOCS, communications, payloads, GSE/EGSE).
Produce and maintain Interface Control Documents (ICDs) to support scalable integration across multiple satellite platforms and mission variants.
Support integration planning and execution, ensuring coherent behavior across electronics HW, embedded SW, and FPGA firmware.
Analyses, Trade-offs, Robustness & Risk
Execute and document trade studies (performance, reliability, complexity, cost/schedule, manufacturability, testability), explicitly considering platform reuse and scalability constraints.
Support system robustness activities such as FMEA/FMECA, hazard/fault analysis, and FDIR concept definition.
Contribute to reliability thinking (derating approach, fault containment, safe modes, redundancy where applicable) and support EMC/EMI considerations at system level.
Maintain radiation-awareness at system level (mission-dependent): TID/SEE mitigation concepts, watchdogs, EDAC, scrubbing (as applicable).
Identify, assess, and manage technical risks; propose mitigation plans and drive closure.
Verification, Validation & Test (IVVQ)
Define the verification strategy and maintain the verification matrix (inspection, analysis, test, demonstration).
Contribute to authoring test plans, procedures, and test reports; support execution at unit/subsystem/system level.
Promote verification approaches that enable repeatable test campaigns and scalable production/AIT flows (e.g., reusable test assets, test automation, standardized acceptance criteria).
Support lab and AIV/AIT activities: test readiness, anomaly triage, root-cause analysis, and corrective/preventive actions.
Process, Toolchain & Continuous Improvement
Operate within established engineering and systems engineering processes to ensure quality and repeatability, while contributing to continuous improvement of methods, templates, and workflows.
Help evolve the platform development approach to better support reuse, configuration management, and scalability across multiple satellite platforms.
Collaborate effectively in a multidisciplinary environment, balancing structured execution with rapid iteration.
Required Skills & Knowledge
Education: MSc (or equivalent) in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related STEM discipline.
Professional experience: Minimum 3–5 years in systems engineering for avionics systems (Old Space and/or New Space) OR complex electronic systems in other industries operating in safety-critical and/or harsh environments.
Proven ability to work across HW/SW/FPGA FW boundaries, understanding constraints such as timing, throughput, determinism, resource budgets, and verification implications.
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.
Systems Engineering Tools & Processes (Examples)
Requirements & Traceability: IBM DOORS/DOORS Next, Polarion, Jama (or similar).
MBSE / Architecture & Modeling: SysML/UML tools such as Cameo Systems Modeler (MagicDraw), Capella, Enterprise Architect; modeling/simulation with MATLAB/Simulink (or equivalent).
Configuration, Change & Collaboration: Git-based workflows; issue/change tracking with Jira or Azure DevOps; documentation collaboration with Confluence/SharePoint (or similar).
Test & Integration: Python for test automation/scripting; lab debug tooling (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, bus analyzers) and protocol analysis tools such as Wireshark.
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.
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.
