Spacecraft Test Engineer (Denver, Colorado)

About Astro Digital

Astro Digital designs, builds, and operates a diverse range of small satellite systems supporting space-based turnkey missions for several business applications, including earth observation, communications, in-orbit demonstrations, risk reduction, science, and exploration. Astro Digital is headquartered in Littleton, Colorado with roughly 100 employees and infrastructure around the globe. This position is located in San Jose, CA.

Position Summary

As part of the Spacecraft Integration & Test team, you will join a collaborative group responsible for preparing, integrating, and testing spacecraft throughout their development and production lifecycle. This is an excellent opportunity for an early-career engineer looking for hands-on experience.

Your primary responsibility will be owning and maintaining our FlatSats. You will help keep these systems organized, documented, and ready for engineering teams across the company. This includes maintaining hardware configurations and Bills of Materials (BOMs), coordinating equipment usage, assembling test configurations, and supporting both local and remote engineers with hardware setup and troubleshooting.

You will also assist with spacecraft integration and flight model (FM) testing, helping execute test procedures, collect data, troubleshoot issues, and improve our testing infrastructure. As your experience grows, you will have opportunities to specialize either in spacecraft test systems and integration or in software development and test automation.

We're looking for someone who is organized, curious, hands-on, and eager to learn. Success in this role comes from taking ownership, communicating well with teammates, and continuously looking for ways to improve our hardware labs and testing processes.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Own and maintain the FlatSat lab.
• Maintain accurate Bills of Materials (BOMs), hardware inventories, cable documentation, and configuration records.
• Coordinate hardware usage and communicate changes to ensure engineers have the equipment they need.
• Assemble, configure, and troubleshoot hardware test setups for engineering and spacecraft integration activities.
• Support remote team members with hardware setup, configuration, and debugging.
• Assist with spacecraft integration and Flight Model (FM) testing as needed.
• Execute test procedures, collect and analyze test data, and document results.
• Help identify, troubleshoot, and document hardware and software issues discovered during testing.
• Ensure laboratory equipment and test infrastructure remain organized, calibrated, and operational.
• Contribute to improving lab organization, documentation, and testing processes.
• As experience grows, contribute to the development of automated test systems and software tools.
• Work closely with systems, electrical, software, and mechanical engineers to support successful spacecraft integration and mission execution.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Aerospace, Electrical, Mechanical, Software, Computer Engineering), Physics, Math, or a related technical field or equivalent hands-on technical experience.
• 0–3 years of relevant engineering or technical experience.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Comfortable working with hardware and willing to learn new systems.
• Experience using Linux or a willingness to learn.
• Basic scripting experience (Python, Bash, or similar) is a plus.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively with a multidisciplinary team.
• Desire to learn spacecraft integration, testing, and automation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience assembling or troubleshooting electronic hardware.
• Familiarity with oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, or other lab equipment.
• Experience maintaining hardware inventories or documentation.
• Experience with Python or other scripting languages.
• Familiarity with Git or version control.
• Exposure to automated testing or continuous integration.
• Experience with Linux.
• Interest in embedded systems, spacecraft, robotics, or other complex hardware systems.

Physical Demands

This position requires the ability to lift and move objects weighing up to 50 Lbs. Frequent standing, walking, bending, and reaching may be required.

Export Statement

This position requires access to export-controlled commodities, technical data, technology, software, and services. U.S. citizenship, U.S. legal permanent resident status, or protected person status under 22 CFR §120.15 and 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3) is required.