---
title: 'Avionics Engineer at wardstone.space'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/avionics-engineer-wardstone-space-el-segundo-hjfd9cjytfsy'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-25'
---

# Avionics Engineer at wardstone.space

- **Company:** wardstone.space
- **Location:** El Segundo, CA
- **Compensation:** $100k–$130k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-19
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-25
- **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/wardstone-space/am9icG9zdDpGWglCv4Ixq81FbN1Ra7Rv

## Job description

## Overview

You will own the electronics on Wardstone’s interceptors, from board-level design and power systems to sensor integration, harnessing, and the electrical interface to the launcher. This is a hands-on role. You’ll design boards, build and debug them yourself, and take them through qualification to flight. You’ll work directly with the founders and with the seeker, GNC, embedded software, propulsion, and mechanical engineers. Your hardware will fly and intercept targets.

## What You’ll Do

Design the electronics

- Define the avionics architecture, including the flight computer, power distribution, and data buses.
- Design, simulate, and lay out PCBs for computing, sensing, actuation, and power.
- Own schematic capture, layout, component selection, DFM, and vendor work.
- Develop reliable power systems, including DC–DC conversion, batteries, protection circuits, and transient management. Integrate sensors and actuators
- Integrate the seeker, IMUs, GNSS, and electromechanical actuators.
- Design signal-conditioning circuits and low-latency sensor and actuator interfaces for the flight software and autopilot.
- Design wiring harnesses with the mechanical team, along with the electrical interface to the launcher. Design for harsh environments
- Design electronics to survive high-G launch, vibration, shock, and thermal extremes, working with the mechanical team on packaging and analysis.
- Lead electrical qualification testing, including EMI/EMC, vibration, thermal, and high-G testing. Bring up and integrate hardware
- Work with embedded software engineers on processor selection, drivers, and the hardware-firmware interface.
- Bring up, debug, and iterate hardware in the lab using scopes, logic analyzers, and DAQs.
- Support vehicle integration, ground testing, and flight test. Own it end to end
- Write requirements, test plans, and documentation.
- Take hardware from concept through prototype and test to flight-ready.

Required Qualifications

- B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
- 2+ years designing and fielding electronics hardware, including at least one system taken from design through test. Student rocketry or similar project teams count.
- Strong PCB design experience (Altium, KiCad, or similar), including mixed-signal and power electronics.
- Strong fundamentals in circuit analysis, signal integrity, noise, grounding, and EMI/EMC.
- Experience integrating sensors, actuators, and power systems.
- Hands-on prototyping skills, including soldering, rework, bring-up, and debugging.
- Comfortable with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and other lab equipment.
- Must be a U.S. person as defined by ITAR (U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual). [Must be eligible to obtain a U.S. security clearance.]

## Nice to Have

- Experience with avionics for missiles, rockets, UAVs, or other high-speed flight vehicles.
- Experience with high-G electronics design and qualification.
- Experience with wiring harness design or launcher and vehicle electrical interfaces.
- Experience with high-speed digital buses or RF systems.
- Embedded firmware experience (C/C++, RTOS).
- Experience with motor drives or actuator control.
- Experience with MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-810, or similar flight hardware standards.
- Prior early-stage startup experience.

## About wardstone.space

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Wardstone builds a modular, low-cost interceptor platform for air and missile defense, designed to counter threats from Group 4 UAS to medium-range ballistic missiles.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage; raised $5M)
- **Headquarters**: El Segundo, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2025
- **Founders**: Sebastian Fischer (CEO) and Tobias Fischer

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Aerospace & Defense, Missile Defense, Space-Based Interceptors
- **Target customers**: U.S. Department of Defense (Space Force, Missile Defense Agency, Air Force Research Labs), allied nations
- **Mission or purpose**: To out-produce, out-innovate, and out-perform adversaries by building a modular interceptor platform that can be mass-produced, rapidly adapted, and fielded at the pace of evolving threats.

## Products & Services
- **Hailstorm (Ground-Based Interceptor)**: A right-sized, modular surface-based interceptor demonstrated in the Mojave (Mach 2.5, 40,000 ft). Uses a large particle cloud (1 km diameter) to kinetically neutralize hypersonic and ballistic missiles, reducing cost and sensing requirements.
- **Space-Based Interceptor Constellation**: Satellites equipped with kinetic interceptors designed to counter hypersonic and ballistic missiles from orbit. Part of the “Golden Dome” concept.
- **Modular Platform Architecture**: Interchangeable components allow mission-specific configuration, rapid upgrades, and parallel production across multiple suppliers.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding — $5M seed round (raised from Nova Threshold, Liquid 2 Ventures, Bow Capital, B5 Capital, Allegis Capital)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Y Combinator (fall 2025 cohort), relationships with AFWERX, Space Systems Command, Air Force Research Labs, Navy Joint Special Operations Command
- **Growth Signals**: Accepted into Y Combinator; first prototype (Hailstorm-Ground) successfully flown; letters of support for a $3M SBIR grant; inbound requests for additional use cases; hiring multiple engineering roles.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Modularity**: Standardized, interchangeable components decouple production from single bottlenecks, enabling surge manufacturing and supply chain resilience.
- **Cost advantage**: Interceptors are designed to be “right-sized” to the threat, drastically reducing per-unit cost compared to traditional “exquisite” interceptors (e.g., THAAD, GMD).
- **Unique kill mechanism**: Large particle cloud increases probability of intercept without requiring precise hit-to-kill, reducing sensor and actuator costs.
- **Incremental path**: Starting with ground-based interceptors before scaling to space-based systems, allowing technology maturation and customer validation.

## Strategic Focus
- Near-term: Deliver ground-based interceptors to fill the “missing middle” threat band (Group 4 UAS to MRBMs) and secure SBIR/IRAD contracts.
- Medium-term: Deploy space-based interceptors as part of the U.S. “Golden Dome” missile defense architecture.
- Continuous improvement: Open architecture to integrate new technologies without redesigning the entire platform.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven**: Direct impact on national security and countering hypersonic threats.
- **Early-stage startup**: Opportunity to shape the company’s technology and culture from the ground up.
- **Engineering focus**: Roles span mechanical, electrical, avionics, propulsion, GNC, simulation, and sensing.
- **Compensation & equity**: Competitive salaries ($100k–$160k for engineers) plus equity grants.
- **Location**: El Segundo, CA — a growing aerospace startup hub near LA Air Force Base and Space Force facilities.
- **Work environment**: Likely on-site/hybrid (El Segundo office); YC alumni culture with fast iteration and hands-on testing (e.g., Mojave flight tests).

## Sources
1. [wardstone.space](https://wardstone.space/)
2. [wardstone.space/careers](https://wardstone.space/careers)
3. [wardstone.space/ourstory](https://wardstone.space/ourstory)
4. [spacenews.com](https://spacenews.com/startup-bets-on-new-approach-to-space-based-missile-defense/)
5. [ycombinator.com](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/wardstone)

## Other roles at wardstone.space

- [Technical Recruiter](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-recruiter-wardstone-space-el-segundo-weysaczpdk42) — El Segundo, CA
- [MBA Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/mba-intern-wardstone-space-el-segundo-wk15p8cdft3h) — El Segundo, CA
- [Head of Manufacturing](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-manufacturing-wardstone-space-el-segundo-gwv1rsn8dzc6) — El Segundo, CA
- [Supply Chain Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/supply-chain-manager-wardstone-space-el-segundo-mvxgw8kaqgbk) — El Segundo, CA
- [Operations and Logistics Associate](https://feeny.ai/job/operations-and-logistics-associate-wardstone-space-el-segundo-cmpqg5jyxv5j) — El Segundo, CA
- [Mechanical Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-technician-wardstone-space-el-segundo-z5daq08jrxsw) — El Segundo, CA
- [Avionics Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/avionics-technician-wardstone-space-el-segundo-vcwqpsgege8z) — El Segundo, CA
- [Technical Program Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-program-manager-wardstone-space-el-segundo-qada746w7n4e) — El Segundo, CA
- [Propulsion Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/propulsion-engineer-wardstone-space-el-segundo-52f0qfp1273z) — El Segundo, CA
- [Senior Aerodynamics Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-aerodynamics-engineer-wardstone-space-el-segundo-7ra1j3qjsywx) — El Segundo, CA