Electric Propulsion Engineer - Avionics, Starshield

ELECTRIC PROPULSION ENGINEER, AVIONICS (STARSHIELD)

Starshield leverages SpaceX's Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts. While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use, with an initial focus on earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads.

SpaceX is hiring an Electric Propulsion Engineer (avionics focus) to join a collaborative engineering team working on design, analysis, build, and test of high-volume, flight-qualified satellite electric propulsion systems. In this role you will contribute end-to-end hardware ownership of propulsion power-processing and control electronics—from design through production support and qualification—for hardware that must meet flight reliability requirements.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design, analyze, test, and provide operational support for high-volume production spacecraft electric propulsion avionics (power-processing and control electronics that drive thrusters, heaters, and propellant-feed actuators)
• Lead or contribute to electrical architecture, specification, component selection, circuit-board design, implementation, verification, board bring-up, and debugging (depth in several of these areas is expected over time; prior ownership of every step is not required)
• Design, develop, and test propulsion electronics, including characterization, requirements generation and verification, and flight qualification
• Partner with firmware/software, mechanical, thermal, manufacturing, and production-test teams
• Design, build, modify, operate, and troubleshoot electric propulsion electronics and associated test setups, including vacuum-chamber electrical interfaces, high-voltage supplies, data acquisition and control systems, harnessing, and instrumentation
• Analyze and review ground-test and flight data with numerical tools (e.g., Python, MATLAB) to confirm hardware is operating as expected and inform design decisions; develop scripts as needed
• Lead root-cause investigations and board or component redesigns to improve reliability and/or production rates
• Develop and execute qualification test plans for flight readiness (vibration, shock, thermal cycle, EMI/EMC, life cycle, fault injection)
• Evaluate design and qualification coverage for new vehicles and missions; close gaps with targeted analysis or test
• Make risk-informed trades across cost, lead time, reliability, and performance to meet program reliability targets for flight hardware
• Own critical spaceflight hardware end-to-end, with support from manufacturing, reliability, test, firmware, and operations teams
• Work as an integrated team, with daily interactions among technicians, engineers, and managers; identify and implement design and process improvements
• Communicate clearly under ambiguity, escalate technical and schedule risks early, and collaborate through disagreement

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in electrical, aerospace, physics, mechanical, or other engineering discipline preferred 
• 1+ years of total experience in one or a combination of the following: professional or internship experience designing, testing, and analyzing power electronics, analog/mixed-signal, or spacecraft avionics; academic research with comparable design/build/test ownership of power supplies, plasma or electric-propulsion power processing, high-voltage, or control electronics; or closely related hardware experience (e.g., motor drives, converters, RF/power, or instrumentation for vacuum or plasma systems) 

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: 

• Demonstrated delivery of hardware for aerospace, defense, space, or equivalent high-reliability or safety-critical use (lab, flight, or production; new design or iterative redesign)
• Experience with mixed-signal or power electronics bring-up, characterization, and debug
• Working knowledge of analog and power electronics, high-voltage design, circuit protection, EMI/EMC, and numerical analysis programming (e.g., Python, MATLAB); control loops, plasma or nonlinear electrical loads, schematic/layout review, vacuum operation, and C/C++ as applicable (depth in several of these areas is valued; mastery of all is not expected)
• Experience prioritizing concurrent design, build, and test work against flight and production milestones
• Clear documentation habits appropriate for flight hardware
• Track record of improving designs and processes for reliability, rate, or quality
• Active Top Secret or Top Secret/SCI clearance, or ability and willingness to obtain a Top Secret clearance, is desired but not required

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• An active clearance may provide the opportunity to work on sensitive SpaceX missions; if so, you will be subject to pre-employment drug and random drug and alcohol testing
• Ability to perform essential job duties that may include working in and around vacuum chambers and high-voltage test areas—standing, kneeling, crouching, twisting the upper body, working in cramped positions in small openings, and climbing hand-over-hand. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role
• Ability to travel up to 10% of the time
• This role is primarily on-site to support hands-on test facility and hardware work (location per posting)

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay Range:
Level 1: $105,000.00 - $140,000.00
Level 2: $120,000.00 - $170,000.00

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, and experience.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.

Those with an active clearance will receive a 10% differential, up to an additional $20,000 annually, once officially briefed into a classified program.