Nolan Sornson

About Nolan Sornson

Electrical engineering generalist with a passion for working on impactful projects and learning new skills. I enjoy working in teams and collaborating with coworkers from my discipline and across engineering disciplines. In my recent role at Astrobotic, I have developed depth in designing electronics for space radiation environments and high efficiency switch mode power supplies and have taken a number of PCBA designs through the whole product lifecycle (concept/requirements, component selection/trade studies, schematic capture and layout, board manufacturing, design verification testing, qualification/acceptance testing, end user integration).

Experience

1. Avionics Engineer Iii

   Astrobotic

   May 2025 — Present · Pittsburgh, PA, US

   Electrical engineering generalist responsible for core spacecraft avionics hardware for Griffin Mission 1 (GM1) lunar lander. Technical depth in power electronics from cradle to grave ownership of Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) board. Full system breadth demonstrated through leadership roles during testing of Power Control and Distribution Unit (PCDU), Integrated Avionics Unit (IAU), and Propulsion Control Unit (PCU). Promoted from E1 to E3 in 3 years for contributions made across entire avionics ecosystem to improve designs, test infrastructure, and team processes- Authored comprehensive proposal guide for Avionics team to both standardize Avionics proposal technicaldeliverables and provide resource to train contributors to future proposals- Established standard operating procedure (SOP) to unify software update process across 4 teams. Unified SOP maintains records in one system, utilizes existing update procedures, and accommodates each teams’ needs- Responsible for $20M of Avionics subsystem architecture/design decisions and cost/schedule inputs for a Commercial Lunar Payload Service (CLPS) proposal- Translated commerical rover light system and solar array drive electronics request for proposal into project milestones and work breakdown structure estimates for multiple teams to support proposal response- Informal leader during multiple environmental test campaigns (PCDU Flight Vibe/TVAC, IAU Flight Vibe/TVAC, IAU and PCU Qualification Shock/Vibe). Guided unit under test (UUT) and Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) troubleshooting and day to day test execution- Improved Avionics component test data review time for 3 types of components’ acceptance test results from 4h to 10m without sacrificing review coverage/rigor by developing Python/LaTeX test report generation tool and guiding adoption of tool by multiple component teams- Component owner of IAU for acceptance and qualification (EMC, Shock/Vibe, and Thermal Vacuum testing).

Education

• Lehigh University

  Bachelor's degree, Integrated Business and Engineering Honors Program

  2017 — 2021