Avionics Systems Engineer - Avionics

Avionics Systems Engineer - Avionics

D-Orbit

Lomazzo, Italy

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.
• Deep knowledge of AI tools.

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

• 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.