Radiation Effects Engineer

TL;DR

Radiation Effects Engineer (Aerospace): Lead cradle-to-grave radiation test campaigns for satellite avionics hardware with an accent on SEE, TID, DDD, and materials testing. Focus on designing electrical test setups, executing tests at national labs, automating data analysis, and documenting results to ensure reliability in harsh space environments.

Location: Los Angeles, CA. Must be a U.S. person per ITAR regulations.

Salary: $100,000 - $130,000 + equity

Company

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

What you will do

• Lead radiation test campaigns by coordinating facilities, designing test setups, writing procedures, executing tests, and documenting results.
• Design, fabricate, and assemble production-quality test racks, PCBAs, and cable harnesses.
• Troubleshoot, repair, and modify electronic components, assemblies, and systems using lab equipment.
• Develop Python scripts for test automation, data collection, and analysis.
• Schedule and prioritize radiation testing for components, boards, and subsystems to support hardware lifecycle.
• Flash firmware, verify software loads, and build fixtures using mechanical tools.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or related field, or 3+ years professional experience in aerospace hardware assembly/integration/testing.
• 1+ years experience in radiation effects testing (TID, SEE, proton, heavy ion, gamma, neutron).
• Ability to set up and run electrical measurements (voltage, current, timing, digital I/O).
• Experience with test equipment: oscilloscopes, power supplies, SMUs, function generators, logic analyzers.
• Demonstrated soldering, crimping, cable harness assembly, and clear documentation skills.
• Must be available to travel up to 25% for radiation tests; valid driver's license.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with radiation effects on semiconductors and mitigation strategies.
• Experience designing PCBs (Altium, KiCad, OrCAD) and electrical schematics.
• FPGA or microcontroller-based test systems.
• Test automation in Linux, C++, Rust, Python.
• Strong troubleshooting and communication skills.

Culture & Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits: paid time off, medical/dental/vision, life insurance, paid parental leave.
• Equity in the company.
• Fast-paced Series C startup environment focused on groundbreaking space tech.
• Encourages non-traditional career paths and reasonable accommodations.