HIL Engineer II

Astra’s mission is to improve life on Earth from space by creating a healthier and more connected planet. Today, Astra offers one of the lowest cost-per-launch dedicated orbital launch services, and one of the industry’s leading flight-proven electric propulsion systems for satellites, the Astra Spacecraft Engine.

As a HIL Engineer, you'll work at the intersection of flight software, avionics hardware, and simulation – building and operating the test environments that verify our rocket's brain before it ever leaves the ground. Hardware-in-the-loop testing is how we find failure modes cheaply, and at Astra, it's tightly coupled to active flight programs. You'll work alongside flight software, avionics, and test engineers to stand up HIL benches, run test cases, and help close verification gaps on real hardware. Two or three years in, curious about how systems actually behave, and ready to do hands-on work that matters directly to launch – this role is for you.

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• Build, configure, and maintain HIL test benches integrating real avionics hardware with real-time simulation environments.
• Execute test cases against flight software and avionics subsystems, logging results and identifying anomalies.
• Develop and refine test scripts and simulation models under the guidance of senior engineers, building toward independent test case authorship.
• Interface with flight software, avionics, and systems engineering teams to understand requirements and translate them into executable test scenarios.
• Support integration of flight hardware onto bench – including harness connections, I/O mapping, and signal verification.
• Maintain bench configuration documentation and test records in support of verification closure.

• 2+ years of experience in a test, lab, or development environment (internships, university programs, and personal projects count)
• Exposure to real-time systems, embedded hardware, or software-hardware integration – you understand the difference between a simulation running fast and a simulation running correctly
• Proficiency in at least one scripting or programming language (Python, MATLAB, C, or similar)
• Comfortable reading schematics and understanding signal flow at a functional level
• Familiarity with data acquisition, signal conditioning, or I/O hardware
• B.S. in Electrical, Computer, Aerospace, or related engineering field

• Hands-on experience with real-time platforms (National Instruments VeriStand/cRIO, dSPACE, Speedgoat, or similar)
• Exposure to avionics communication protocols (CAN, RS-422, SpaceWire, MIL-STD-1553, or similar)
• Prior work on a verification or integration bench in any industry
• Comfort reading flight software requirements or interface control documents