Principal Electrical Engineer (Spacecraft)

TL;DR

Principal Electrical Engineer (Spacecraft): Design electronics PCBAs for high-power satellites including architecture, component selection, and circuit board design with an accent on high-speed digital applications, kW-scale power converters, and radiation environments. Focus on qualifying designs through vibration, shock, thermal vacuum testing, developing test equipment, and integrating hardware into spacecraft systems.

Location: Onsite in Los Angeles, CA. Must be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or protected individual) per ITAR export control regulations.

Salary: $160,000 - $210,000 + equity

Company

Building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown for missions from LEO to deep space, backed by $450M from leading investors and with $500M in signed contracts.

What you will do

• Design electronics PCBAs for spacecraft including architecture, component selection, circuit board design, board bring-up, and debugging.
• Qualify designs through environmental testing: vibration, shock, thermal, and thermal vacuum.
• Integrate designs with internal/external stakeholders into spacecraft systems and operate hardware in flight.
• Develop test equipment, development PCBAs, and test scripts.
• Prototype electronics assemblies, execute testing, qualify for flight, and design for future spacecraft generations.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Person per ITAR.
• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer science, computer engineering, or related STEM field.
• 8+ years designing and testing electronics PCBAs in fast-paced environments.
• Experience with multi-layer PCBAs for high-speed digital applications.
• High-performance kW-scale isolated power converter design.
• Analog control loops, solid-state load switches, motor inverters, EMI/EMC compliance, or sensor signal conditioning.
• Digital processors, FPGAs, memory chips, or network switches.
• Proficient with LTspice circuit simulation.

Nice to have

• Component selection for radiation environments.
• Filter design for stability, noise rejection, and threat signals.
• Load switch design and power path protection.
• Programming in C/C++, Python, or Matlab.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits: paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and more.
• Fast-paced Series C space startup environment.
• Equity in the company.
• Encourages non-traditional career paths; apply even if not 100% match.