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Xplore

Manages space missions with proprietary spacecraft

Senior Embedded Systems Engineer - Space Systems

Hardware Systems IntegrationConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timeBellevue, WA, USA

About the Job

Requirements

  • U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent resident status is required.
  • At least 3 years of experience in embedded systems hardware development is required.
  • Strong PCB design experience, including schematic capture and layout, is required; KiCAD is preferred.
  • Experience designing boards with four or more layers and mixed-signal or high-speed interfaces is required.
  • Experience with FPGA development using Xilinx toolchains is required.
  • Experience developing Linux device drivers in C is required.
  • Strong hardware debugging skills using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and spectrum analyzers are required.
  • Experience with embedded power architectures and power supply design is required.
  • Familiarity with embedded Linux systems and cross-compilation environments is required.
  • Hands-on experience soldering surface-mount components, including fine-pitch integrated circuits, and through-hole components is required.
  • A bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field is required.
  • The ability to work independently and take ownership of complex subsystems is required.
  • Availability to support critical integration, testing, or launch activities outside standard working hours when required is required.
  • The ability to work on-site at Xplore’s Bellevue, Washington office is required.

Responsibilities

  • Lead the design and development of flight-critical embedded hardware and firmware across the full lifecycle, including embedded architecture and system design, PCB and hardware development, FPGA and firmware implementation, board bring-up and hardware validation, and system integration and environmental testing.
  • Improve existing embedded architectures and build new architectures that are technically rigorous, resilient, and scalable for spacecraft deployment.
  • Take technical ownership of systems from design through flight and constellation-scale operation.
  • Architect embedded hardware and firmware for spacecraft and payload subsystems.
  • Define system interfaces between sensors, compute systems, and spacecraft avionics.
  • Design scalable embedded platforms supporting multi-sensor spacecraft architectures.
  • Establish design standards for reliability, performance, and manufacturability.
  • Design multilayer PCBs for spaceflight applications using KiCAD or equivalent electronic design automation tools.
  • Perform schematic capture, component selection, and layout review.
  • Ensure designs meet signal integrity, thermal, and power requirements.
  • Implement design for manufacturability and production readiness.
  • Lead bring-up of custom flight electronics and embedded subsystems.
  • Validate power sequencing, clocking, and high-speed interfaces.
  • Perform hands-on debugging using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and laboratory instrumentation.
  • Conduct integration testing and support environmental qualification of flight hardware.
  • Develop FPGA-based solutions using Xilinx Vivado and related toolchains.
  • Implement register-transfer-level designs and achieve timing closure for high-performance systems.
  • Develop embedded Linux drivers and low-level firmware in C or C++; Rust may also be used.
  • Optimize system performance across hardware and firmware boundaries.
  • Integrate embedded hardware with spacecraft flight software and payload systems.
  • Support payload integration and data interface development.
  • Build test harnesses and validation infrastructure for subsystem testing.
  • Collaborate with spacecraft, payload, and mission engineering teams to ensure flight readiness.

Desired Qualifications

  • Experience with Xilinx systems-on-chip, such as the Zynq family.
  • Deep familiarity with Vivado design flows and constraint management.
  • Experience with high-speed digital design, including LVDS, Ethernet, and USB.
  • Experience working with embedded GPU platforms such as NVIDIA Jetson.
  • Experience building custom Linux images using Yocto, Buildroot, or PetaLinux.
  • Experience optimizing Docker containers for embedded deployment.
  • Familiarity with Git, continuous integration/continuous delivery pipelines, and modern development workflows.

About the Company

Xplore

Manages space missions with proprietary spacecraft

Xplore provides Space as a Service by handling end-to-end space missions for diverse clients, including mission planning, spacecraft engineering, payload integration, flight financing, and data management. It operates its own multi-mission spacecraft platforms—the XCRAFT for missions from Venus to Ceres and the LightCraft solar sail—and a ground-control platform called Major Tom to manage operations for both its own and third-party constellations. The company also offers remote sensing data from hyperspectral, high-resolution video, and ultraviolet sensors, plus options to host various payloads such as science instruments and data assets. Its goal is to grow the commercial space economy and advance robotic exploration by simplifying complex missions and enabling a wide range of payloads and data products in deep space and planetary missions.

Company size
11-50
Company stage
Early VC
Total funding
$25.2M
Headquarters
Bellevue, WA
Founded
2017

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