Principal PCB Layout Engineer

TL;DR

Principal PCB Layout Engineer (Aerospace): Serve as subject matter expert for PCB layout and design stack-ups for power, analog, digital, and RF printed circuit boards with an accent on high-speed digital, kW-scale power converters, signal and power integrity. Focus on architecting design for test and manufacture guidelines, library management, and full-cycle PCB processes for space satellite electronics.

Location: Los Angeles (onsite). Must be a U.S. Person per ITAR regulations (U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or protected individual).

Salary: $150,000 - $200,000 + equity

Company

Building the largest and highest-power satellites for LEO to deep space missions, backed by $450M from top investors, with mass production and multiple launches planned through 2026-2027.

What you will do

• Design PCB layout and stack-ups for power, analog, digital, and RF boards across K2 satellites, from kW-scale power converters to high-performance flight computers.
• Develop library part creation and maintenance best practices, plus design for test (DFT) and manufacture (DFM) guidelines in collaboration with teams and manufacturers.
• Handle full-cycle PCB design including floor planning, material selection, impedance control, transmission lines, high-density BGA fanout, and array designs.
• Mitigate EMC/EMI, manage high voltage, multi-gigabit SerDes, clock distribution, and standard interfaces like Ethernet, PCIe.
• Complete first PCBAs for flight hardware testing in first 6 months, scale tools for multiple designs in year 1, and fly electronics in space within 2 years.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering AND/OR 10+ years professional experience in PCB Layout
• Experience designing and testing electronics PCBAs in fast-paced environments
• Expertise with Altium Designer and industry standards like IPC-6012, J-STD-001
• Full-cycle PCB design: power/signal integrity, high-speed digital (microprocessor/FPGA/DRAM), kW power converters, high voltage, SerDes
• U.S. Person status required for ITAR compliance (access to export-controlled information)

Nice to have

• Scripting and automation for PCB design tools
• Experience with PCB manufacturing documentation

Culture & Benefits

• Unlimited paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave
• Fast-paced startup environment focused on groundbreaking Series C space tech
• Equity in the company, comprehensive benefits package
• Encourages non-traditional career paths and motivated individuals excited about space innovation