Lead Embedded Electronics Architect -- Photonic Seeker Systems
Job Description
Morning bench time starts with bringing a laser driver online and tuning a transimpedance amplifier to pull faint return signals out of the noise. By lunch, you are shoulder-to-shoulder with optical and mechanical teammates, shaping an architecture that will survive missile-grade vibration, shock, and thermal extremes. The afternoon closes with a quick schematic tweak and a layout decision that shaves millimeters and milliwatts as you take a board from breadboard to brassboard to fully integrated unit.
This is a fast-moving defense photonics startup where you are the sole electrical engineer on a compact, interdisciplinary team. Your designs literally define the seeker: electronics that drive, control, and read out photonic missile seekers for counter‑UAS interceptors and precision‑guided munitions.
What you’ll tackle- Develop laser and detector drive circuitry, transimpedance amplifiers, and end-to-end signal chains that transform optical returns into clean digital data for onboard compute.
- Design custom PCBs from zero-to-one, advancing each design from early breadboards through brassboard prototypes to integrated flight-ready assemblies, optimizing size, weight, and power at every step.
- Conquer integration challenges: grounding, shielding, EMI/EMC, and compliance with stringent military standards (MIL‑STD, WOSA, SOSA open-architecture requirements).
- Partner closely with optics and mechanics to harden systems for high‑G, high‑vibe, and wide‑temperature environments typical of missile applications.
- Build, test, characterize, and iterate rapidly in a tight design‑build‑test rhythm.
- 5+ years of experience and a broad electronics foundation with depth in at least one domain (e.g., mixed‑signal, power, RF, high‑speed).
- Full‑stack PCB creation experience from concept to manufacturing, including schematic capture, layout, and bring‑up.
- Background in sensors or sensor fusion.
- Familiarity with rigid military and open-architecture standards (WOSA/SOSA) and the ability to translate standards into functioning hardware.
- Valued background from Anduril, SpaceX, or defense primes (or similar environments).
- Proficiency in Electrical / Electronic Systems and the National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP).
Our client is building the merchant manufacturing layer for photonics—the TSMC of optical components—creating the nanophotonics fabrication infrastructure that will power satellite communications, optical computing, AI data centers, and defense systems. The first commercial focus: chip‑based LiDAR seekers for counter‑UAS interceptors and precision‑guided munitions, built around optical metasurfaces. The roadmap extends to photonic gyroscopes, complete guidance modules, and ultimately a full merchant photonics foundry serving defense, data center, and space markets.
You’ll own the electronics of a flagship product on a tiny team, collaborate with senior engineers with decades of defense photonics experience, and see your boards fly.
Role details- Location: Hawthorne, CA
- Compensation: $160K–$230K base + meaningful equity
- Benefits: Full benefits and all meals covered
- Experience: 5+ years preferred
