Harness Design Engineer

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers – we’re mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space.

The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today’s and tomorrow’s massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits.

With multiple launches planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series C space startup, we’d love for you to apply.

The Role

You will be responsible for harness and wiring system design, analysis, testing and integration on some of the largest, most powerful, rapidly designed and manufactured satellites. You will have the unique opportunity to collaborate with a cross functional team of engineers and own trades to reduce cost, increase integration rate, and decrease mass of bus and payload harnessing. You will be the Responsible Engineer for harness system design and components such as connectors, wire and cable, instrumentation, and heaters. You will help establish production test requirements and support vehicle avionics integration to enable high-rate production and constellation launch cadence. In your first two years, you will have qualified hardware for flight, completed avionics integration on the satellite bus, and flown your hardware through intense LEO, MEO and GEO environments.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Responsible Engineer for harness system design for bus avionics, mechanisms, RF systems, and payloads across the Mega and Giga satellites
• Define interface control documents for avionics boxes and bulkheads to optimize system diagrams and schematics
• Design, analyze, and release harnessing and secondary mounting hardware in CAD and production drawings based on system schematics and vehicle layout
• Drive design trades to reduce cost and select harness components such as connectors, contacts, wire/cables, shield braid, heaters, RTDs and more
• Collaborate closely with the manufacturing engineering and technicians on the harness and electro-mechanical subassembly teams to solve in process issues and ensure high reliability
• Execute development and qualification testing of harness components and assemblies for critical space missions in MEO and GEO orbits
• Collaborate closely with the cross functional engineering teams to capture requirements, lead design trades, and integrate the design into the spacecraft systems
• Effectively manage and communicate project plan, milestones, and schedule execution

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, or electrical engineering or any equivalent combination of education and experience
• 2+ years of experience in electrical harness design, routing, production, and system integration
• Ability to work in a fast-paced and high velocity start-up atmosphere
• Creative problem solver that can assess risk and make collaborative design and development decisions

Nice to Have

• Hands-on experience with environmental testing for space harnessing such as thermal, thermal vacuum, vibration, shock, radiation, and EMI/EMC testing per SMC-S-016
• Competence with electrical test equipment (multimeters, oscilloscopes, network analyzers, etc.)
• Strong presentation experience in highly technical design forums and reviews (Preliminary Design Reviews, Critical Design Reviews, Flight Readiness Reviews, etc.)
• Proficient with NX or similar CAD software including electrical harness routing
• Experience with practical application of GD&T and FEA

Compensation and Benefits:

• Base salary range for this role is $120,000 - $160,000 + equity in the company
• Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level
• Comprehensive benefits package paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks

If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged!

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

Export Compliance

As defined in the ITAR, “U.S. Persons” include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult with a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a “U.S. Person.”

The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

Equal Opportunity

K2 Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with K2 Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.