Instrumentation Engineer

About the role

Venus Aerospace develops rocket engine propulsion systems, including its Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine and Detonation Ramjets. The Instrumentation Engineer designs, integrates and maintains the electrical and instrumentation systems used in test, working in a fast-paced, hardware-focused environment and communicating across disciplines.

Key responsibilities

• Own the design, analysis, development, integration and maintenance of test department electrical and instrumentation systems
• Define how complex aerospace hardware is instrumented, measured and validated on a multidisciplinary team
• Select, integrate and validate sensors for low-speed and high-speed data acquisition systems
• Perform signal conditioning: excitation, amplification, filtering, isolation and scaling of raw sensor outputs
• Verify sensor operation through power checks, continuity, polarity and calibration
• Design and fabricate wiring harnesses and instrumentation interfaces
• Integrate instrumentation with mechanical, fluid, inert gas and cryogenic systems
• Develop test setups for large- and small-scale hardware and generate and revise schematics for test stands
• Generate test procedures and calibrations, review test data, and support grounding, shielding and EMI mitigation
• Install, wire and troubleshoot instrumentation, and communicate with the Software team on automated testing
• Support commissioning and maintenance of test infrastructure and perform other test and development tasks

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent hands-on test experience (7+ years of relevant experience if no degree)
• 3+ years of experience in instrumentation, controls or test engineering
• Hands-on experience with signal conditioning and data acquisition systems
• Ability to work outdoors, safely lift and transport up to 40 pounds, and work independently and collaboratively

Required skills

• Understanding of measurement uncertainty, sampling theory, filtering, noise, grounding and EMI
• Sensor signal types and wiring: voltage, mV, differential voltage, 4-20 mA, bridge sensors, IEPE/charge accelerometers, digital I/O, thermocouples and RTDs, pulse and frequency signals
• Installation and troubleshooting of transducers, accelerometers, load cells, flowmeters, solenoid valves, power supplies, NI PXI/cDAQ/cRIO and VFDs
• Tools: power supplies, multimeters, signal generators, oscilloscopes, crimp tools, soldering equipment, torque tools
• Nice to have: LabVIEW, MATLAB, Python, DIAdem, Confluence, Jira, Microsoft Office, CAD modeling, high-speed or transient data acquisition, cryogenic or hazardous test experience