Senior Electrical Hardware Design Engineer

Job Description

Job Description

A New Paradigm For Space Operations.

Who We Are:

Space Kinetic is a dual use space technology startup building a completely new architecture for space operations – one that brings the advantages of proliferated drone technology (low-cost, operationally flexible, attainable, distributed) to space missions while reducing the ecosystem's reliance on consumable fuel. In a world where many companies are focused on incrementally improving the status quo, we are focused on creating something entirely different – an architecture underpinned by new first principles to meet the opportunities and challenges of the third space age head-on. Our goal is to move away from one-to-one space architectures – where each satellite in a constellation has one (or a small # of) primary payloads attached to the bus -- and unlock a 'one-to-many' system, where each satellite has a large number of payloads which can be deployed from their host spacecraft at high velocities without firing a thruster.

This is not a role for someone looking for a traditional 40-hour work week. Space Kinetic is building ambitious, first-of-its-kind technology, and that requires urgency, ownership, and a high level of commitment to changing the foundational assumptions for everything we do in space. 

What You'll Do:

As a Senior Electrical Hardware Design Engineer you will own the design, development, integration, and testing of circuit cards and related electronics hardware for spacecraft and other advanced aerospace and defense systems. You will work closely with mechanical, software, systems, manufacturing, and test engineers to develop space rated flight hardware that performs reliably in demanding environments.

• Design, develop, and validate schematics, PCB layouts, circuit cards, electrical interfaces, and supporting electronics hardware.
• Own circuit card design from concept through schematic capture, PCB layout, bring-up, debugging, testing, and release.
• Develop analog, digital, mixed-signal, and power electronics designs for embedded systems, sensors, actuators, controllers, and related flight hardware.
• Perform component selection, circuit analysis, worst-case analysis, derating reviews, and design trade studies.
• Support PCB stack-up definition, grounding strategies, signal integrity considerations, power integrity considerations, and EMI/EMC design practices.
• Work closely with mechanical and thermal teams to support electronics packaging, board-level thermal management, heat dissipation strategies, and environmental constraints.
• Develop and execute electrical test plans for circuit cards, subsystems, and integrated hardware.
• Collaborate with firmware, software, and controls teams to integrate electronics hardware with embedded processors, sensors, communication interfaces, and control systems.
• Support design for manufacturability, design for test, prototype builds, supplier coordination, and transition from engineering development to repeatable production.
• Drive rapid design iterations in a hands-on development environment where hardware is designed, built, tested, and improved quickly.

What It Takes:

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related engineering discipline.
• 7+ years of professional electrical engineering experience.
• Experience designing electrical hardware, circuit cards, schematics, and PCBs for spacecraft, satellites, aerospace, defense, or other high-reliability applications.
• Experience working on spacecraft hardware or spacecraft electrical systems.
• Experience with flight systems, flight electronics, avionics, or other mission-critical electrical hardware.
• Strong understanding of analog and digital circuit design.
• Experience with schematic capture and PCB design using Altium Designer.
• Experience owning board-level hardware through design, layout, bring-up, debugging, and testing.
• Experience selecting components and working with datasheets, reference designs, and supplier documentation.
• Strong engineering fundamentals and ability to make sound design decisions with incomplete information.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 9+ years of experience designing electronics for spacecraft, satellites, launch vehicles, missile systems, aircraft, defense systems, or other mission-critical hardware.
• Experience with flight-qualified or flight-intent hardware development.
• Experience with mixed-signal PCB design, power electronics, motor controllers, sensor interfaces, battery-powered systems, or embedded control hardware.
• Experience with board-level thermal management, electronics packaging, heat sinking, thermal interfaces, and thermal testing.
• Experience with high-density PCB design, impedance-controlled routing, grounding strategies, stack-up definition, and signal integrity best practices.
• Knowledge of EMI/EMC design practices and qualification testing.
• Experience with environmental testing including vibration, shock, thermal, and vacuum testing.
• Experience working with PCB fabricators, contract manufacturers, component suppliers, and external test labs.
• Familiarity with aerospace standards, high-reliability design practices, and configuration-controlled hardware development.
• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder).
• Ability to maintain or obtain a Government Security Clearance.

What You'll Bring

• Strong technical judgment and engineering fundamentals.
• A hands-on approach to electrical design, debugging, and problem solving.
• Deep interest in circuit card design and the details that make electronics reliable in real-world environments.
• Ability to work across electrical, mechanical, thermal, software, manufacturing, and systems engineering disciplines.
• Comfort operating in an environment with ambitious schedules, evolving requirements, and challenging technical goals.
• A practical understanding of how design choices affect manufacturability, testability, reliability, and performance.
• A desire to see hardware through the full lifecycle — from concept and schematic design to PCB layout, bring-up, qualification, integration, and fielded operation.

*Our vision is unique, and so is the team we're building. If you're driven to succeed in this role, even if your background doesn't fully align with every qualification, we want your application.

Where You'll Be:

• The position will be on site at our headquarters in El Segundo, CA.

What We Offer:

• Equity-Based Compensation
• Highly Competitive PTO and Holiday Calendar
• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage
• Unique Performance-Based Bonus Structure

ITAR Requirements: 
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here

Equal Employment Opportunity:
Space Kinetic provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.

The annual base salary for this role is below. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education/experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity. 

Pay Range

$150,000—$195,000 USD