Senior Electrical Engineer, Imager

Senior Electrical Engineer, Imager

True Anomaly delivers decisive capabilities for space superiority. We build autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors — enabling the U.S. and its Allies to secure the space environment and counter threats from the ultimate high ground.

Our Values

• Be the Offset. We create asymmetric advantages with creativity and ingenuity.
• What Would It Take? We challenge assumptions to deliver ambitious results.
• It's the People. Our team is our competitive advantage and we are better together.

Your Mission

True Anomaly is seeking a talented and experienced Senior Electrical Engineer, Imager to join our Payloads team, reporting to the Electro-Optical Systems Engineering Manager. In this role, you will be the technical authority for the camera, focal plane, and sensing element design of our EO/IR imaging systems, spanning visible, near-IR, and infrared wavelength bands. You will own the full signal chain from photon collection through detector readout, data transfer, and electrical design — ensuring our imaging payloads deliver the performance, reliability, and affordability needed for operational spacecraft. You bring deep hands-on expertise in focal plane array technologies, detector electronics, and imaging system characterization, and you thrive in a fast-paced environment where you can take ownership and drive results from concept to on-orbit operation.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, integration, and testing of camera systems and focal plane assemblies for visible, near-IR, and infrared imaging payloads
• Own the electrical design of detector readout electronics, focal plane interface circuits, and associated analog and digital signal chains
• Define and execute detector and focal plane characterization campaigns, including noise, responsivity, linearity, and dark current measurements
• Design and optimize high-speed data transfer architectures from focal plane to downstream processing and storage
• Develop and maintain image data management approaches, including on-board image storage, buffering, and downlink prioritization
• Perform radiometric and electro-optical system modeling to predict and validate on-orbit imaging performance
• Collaborate with optical, mechanical, and systems engineering teams to ensure seamless payload integration and performance compliance
• Support integration and test activities, including environmental testing, calibration, and on-orbit commissioning
• Develop and maintain documentation including design specifications, test plans, analysis reports, and operating procedures
• Contribute to continuous improvement of EO engineering processes and practices

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Optical Engineering, Physics, or related field (Master's preferred)
• 5+ years of professional experience in electro-optical system design with a focus on cameras, focal plane arrays, and detector electronics
• Hands-on experience with visible, near-IR, and/or IR detector technologies (CCD, CMOS, InGaAs, MCT, or similar)
• Experience with focal plane readout electronics, detector interface design, and analog signal chain development
• Experience with high-speed digital data interfaces and image data transfer architectures
• Strong understanding of radiometric analysis and electro-optical system performance modeling
• Familiarity with SWaPC-constrained payload design for spacecraft applications
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience with embedded firmware development for camera and focal plane control electronics
• Experience developing test software for EO system characterization and validation
• Familiarity with on-board memory management and image storage architectures
• Experience with hyperspectral imaging sensor design, calibration, and data processing
• Familiarity with space-qualified or radiation-tolerant detector and focal plane technologies
• Experience with cryogenic or thermoelectric cooling systems for IR detector applications
• Experience working in a fast-paced, startup environment or a similarly dynamic setting

Compensation

• Base Salary: $150,000-$220,000
• Equity + Benefits: including Health, Dental, Vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO and paid holidays, 401K, Parental Leave

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, location, and experience.

Additional Requirements

• Ability to maintain or obtain TS// SCI clearance
• Work Location: this role will be onsite at either our Centennial, CO or Long Beach, CA locations, with travel to other sites as needed.
• Work environment: the work environment; temperature, noise level, inside or outside, or other factors that will affect the person's working conditions while performing the job.
• Physical demands: the physical demands of the job, including bending, sitting, lifting and driving.