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Portal Space Systems

Develops rapid, solar-thermal propelled satellite buses

Senior Electrical Engineer - Spacecraft Power Systems & Bus Architecture

Power Systems EngineeringConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timeBothell, WA, USAIn-person

About the Job

Requirements

  • A B.S. or M.S. in Electrical Engineering, a related field, or equivalent experience.
  • At least 5 years of experience designing power systems for aerospace, spacecraft, or other high-reliability platforms.
  • Experience with power electronics design, including DC-DC converters, battery management systems, and overcurrent/undervoltage protection circuits.
  • Experience using ECAD tools such as Altium Designer for board design and system schematics.
  • Experience testing and debugging flight or flight-like power hardware in laboratory and system testbeds.

Responsibilities

  • Architect and design spacecraft power systems, including solar array interfaces, battery charge/discharge regulation, power distribution units, and system-level grounding schemes.
  • Lead development of the main spacecraft power bus, including voltage regulation, load management, protection, and redundancy strategies.
  • Perform trade studies and system sizing for battery capacity, solar array performance, and bus architecture optimization.
  • Develop schematics, PCB layouts, and cable harnessing for power boards and interface hardware.
  • Drive hardware bring-up, functional testing, and fault isolation on power boards and integrated systems.
  • Collaborate with systems, mechanical, and thermal engineers to align electrical power system design with mission requirements and spacecraft constraints.
  • Contribute to environmental testing for acceptance and qualification, and EMI/EMC compliance for power hardware.
  • Coordinate with launch providers on interfaces and concept of operations during payload integration, launch pad activities, and spacecraft activation in space.

Desired Qualifications

  • Experience with spacecraft power architectures, including unregulated and regulated bus designs.
  • Knowledge of space-grade components, derating guidelines, and radiation effects on power electronics.
  • Familiarity with power system modeling and analysis tools such as PLECS and SPICE.
  • Experience with electrical power system integration and operations on actual flight programs.
  • Familiarity with standards such as NASA-STD-4005, ECSS-E-ST-20-20, or NASA power interface specifications.

About the Company

Portal Space Systems

Develops rapid, solar-thermal propelled satellite buses

Portal Space Systems designs and builds spacecraft for in-space mobility, focusing on a solar thermal propulsion-driven satellite bus called the Supernova. The bus uses solar energy to heat a propellant, delivering higher thrust and efficiency to perform large orbital changes, such as transferring from LEO to GEO or to cislunar space. The team includes veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Kuiper, helping mature the technology and manufacturing process. The company has secured over $3 million in Department of Defense funding, signaling a government and defense market focus, and plans to begin production of the Supernova by the end of 2026 from its Bothell, Washington base. Its goal is to move satellites more quickly and flexibly through space, enabling expanded space logistics and orbital transfer capabilities while winning government contracts.

Company size
51-200
Company stage
Series A
Total funding
$70.9M
Headquarters
Bothell, WA
Founded
2021

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