Director of Avionics

Director of Avionics

Location: California, Los Angeles

Compensation: Competitive base salary + package + equity

What if your next manufacturing leadership role wasn't about improving an established production line — but building the capability that will help put a new reusable rocket into orbit?

EVONA has partnered with one of the most ambitious launch companies in the world, developing a next-generation reusable medium-to-heavy lift rocket designed to compete at the very top of the commercial launch market.

The company is moving towards first flight, and one of the most critical challenges now is taking sophisticated avionics hardware from development into reliable, scalable, high-rate production.

That's where you come in.

The Mission

As Director of Avionics Manufacturing, you'll own the end-to-end manufacturing and test organisation responsible for the electronics that power, control and connect the launch vehicle.

Flight computers.

PCBs and PCBAs.

Wire harnesses.

Sensors.

Integrated avionics units.

Environmental and functional testing.

This isn't simply about managing an existing factory operation.

You'll help determine how this hardware gets built, how it gets tested, how production scales and how the organisation develops as the vehicle moves towards flight.

You'll lead across manufacturing engineering, production operations and environmental & functional test, working directly with design engineering, systems, vehicle integration, supply chain and quality.

What You'll Own

You'll have responsibility for the entire journey from engineering development through production readiness.

You'll:

• Own manufacturing and test for the vehicle's avionics hardware
• Build and scale multidisciplinary manufacturing and operations teams
• Develop scalable, high-reliability processes for PCBAs, wire harnesses and integrated avionics
• Build the test infrastructure required to support production
• Drive the transition from development into higher-rate manufacturing
• Improve yield, reliability, throughput and cycle time
• Introduce automation, digital production tools and lean manufacturing practices
• Ensure hardware is manufacturable, testable and ready for vehicle integration
• Work across engineering, test, quality, supply chain and vehicle integration to remove production bottlenecks
• Ultimately ensure the avionics organisation can deliver flight hardware at rate and at the required quality

This is a role with genuine ownership rather than a narrow piece of a much larger manufacturing machine.

Who We're Looking For

We're looking for a senior manufacturing leader who understands avionics manufacturing, not simply avionics design.

You'll ideally have 10+ years within aerospace, space, automotive, electronics or another high-reliability manufacturing environment, including significant leadership responsibility.

Most importantly, you'll understand what it takes to manufacture and test complex electro-mechanical hardware.

Experience we're particularly interested in includes:

PCB/PCBA manufacturing • Wire harness fabrication • Integrated avionics • Electronics manufacturing • ESD • Conformal coating • Potting • Functional testing • Environmental testing • RF/electrical validation • Thermal • Vibration • Automated test • High-rate production

You should also have experience building and developing teams and be comfortable operating in an environment where priorities move quickly and schedules are aggressive.

Even Better If…

You've worked directly with spaceflight avionics or other flight-critical electronics.

Experience with IPC standards, EMC testing, automated test development, GSE, battery manufacturing, Lean/Six Sigma or standing up new production and test lines would all be highly relevant.

Why This One Is Different

There are plenty of senior manufacturing jobs where you're recruited to inherit something that's already been built.

This isn't one of them.

You'll join while the vehicle and its manufacturing capability are still evolving, giving you the opportunity to influence the processes, infrastructure, technology and team that will ultimately manufacture its flight avionics at scale.

The wider ambition goes far beyond a single launch vehicle: the company wants to build a major commercial launch business while pushing the boundaries of large-scale additive manufacturing, with a long-term vision extending to establishing industrial capability beyond Earth.

Competitive salary on offer, alongside equity and a wider benefits package.

If you've built avionics rather than simply designed them, led manufacturing teams, and want the opportunity to put your fingerprints on a new launch vehicle before its first flight, then this opportunity is for you.