Job Details

Founding Avionics Integration Engineer

San Francisco Bay Area · Full-time · On-site

Apera is supporting an early-stage aerospace startup developing next-generation electric aircraft. We are seeking a founding avionics engineer to lead integration from prototype through first full-scale vehicle.

The Role

Own avionics systems end-to-end, including flight computers, sensors, communications, and system architecture. Work hands-on across design, testing, and flight validation to build safe, fault-tolerant systems.

Key Responsibilities

• Define avionics architecture (computing, sensors, comms, redundancy)
• Lead integration, testing (SIL/HIL), and flight validation
• Develop system-level firmware and diagnostics
• Drive build vs buy decisions and hardware selection
• Debug and iterate quickly on real-world flight systems

Ideal Candidate

• Experience integrating avionics or control systems on UAVs, aircraft, robotics, or similar
• Strong systems thinking across hardware and software
• Hands-on with testing, wiring, and debugging in real environments
• Familiar with embedded systems, sensors, and communication protocols

Nice to Have

• Experience with PX4, ArduPilot, or similar
• HIL/SIL testing, Python scripting
• EMC, RF, or aviation standards knowledge

What's Offered

• Founding-level ownership and impact
• Fast-paced, hands-on hardware environment

Why Apply?

• Real ownership, not just a slice
• Zero-One building experience
• Career defining role
• Small team- big impact