Sr Instrumentation & Control Systems Engineer

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team:

The Factory Test team designs, builds, and operates the infrastructure needed to test nearly every part of Terran R right here at our headquarters in Long Beach, CA. This centralized approach provides engineers and technicians with exposure to the entire product lifecycle across a wide range of part sizes and complexities. The scope and scale are significant, with test stands capable of handling millions of pounds of force. Team members lead multiple projects in parallel, avoiding silos and gaining broad technical experience without needing a background in aerospace. With high-impact campaigns ahead, including thrust structure and stage 2 testing, now is the time to join. You won’t just execute, but you’ll help shape and scale the test infrastructure required to meet the demands of a rapidly growing launch program

About the Role:

As a Data and Control System Hardware Engineer, you will be responsible for design, build, and integration of data systems at our Long Beach facilities. The projects you work on will run test systems across the factory ranging from quick and scrappy development test setups to large permanent infrastructure. You will be required to be hands on with the hardware, working side-by-side with our technician team to build and debug your projects. Once your hardware is built, you will also work closely with our operations and software teams to integrate it with our in-house data and controls platform - including writing and debugging automation to control real hardware.

Your projects will span a variety of construction methods, sizes, and applications. These could include anything from portable data systems to large motion control cabinets. The kinds of hardware you will design and work with may include:

• Motion Control Systems

• AC / DC Power Distribution Systems

• Wiring Harnesses

• Selection and Integration of Test Stand Instrumentation

• Portable Data Systems

• Motor and Pump Control Cabinets

About You:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.

• 5+ years of experience developing, activating, and troubleshooting electrical and/or automated systems.

• Strong electrical engineering fundamental knowledge.

• Experience specifying, selecting, and integrating sensors and actuators such as pressure transducers, RTDs, strain gages, thermocouples, solenoid valves, accelerometers, microphones, etc.

• Demonstrated ability to identify and mitigate risks in complex systems.

• No previous aerospace experience is required.

Nice to haves but not required:

• Familiarity with data and control systems (SCADA, PLC’s, NI, Beckhoff, etc.)

• Familiar with scripting languages such as Python or MATLAB for preforming analysis or writing automation tools.

• Comfortable using schematic capture and PCB design tools such as Altium.

• Familiar with communications methods such as, but not limited to, SPI, Ethernet, EtherCAT, CAN, and Modbus.

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:
$133,000—$170,500 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at [email protected].