Staff Electrical Engineer Unit Lead - Reconfigurable Processing Unit
About the job
- A bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
- Eight years of engineering experience in electronics hardware development.
- Hands-on experience with technologies such as software-defined radios.
- Leadership experience, including mentoring or leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
- Strong knowledge of systems engineering practices, requirements flowdown, verification and validation, and configuration management.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to present complex technical information to diverse audiences.
- Serve as the Reconfigurable Processing Unit Unit Lead and primary technical point of contact for the box throughout the product development lifecycle.
- Lead the end-to-end engineering effort for the box, including architecture, design, prototyping, integration, test, environmental qualification, and flight readiness.
- Coordinate and direct a team of radio-frequency, digital, power, mechanical, thermal, software, and systems engineers to ensure consistent and timely technical execution.
- Hold schedule accountability for the box development.
- Develop and review payload control schemes, internal data interfaces, command and telemetry architecture, and firmware and software integration as needed.
- Manage all flight qualification activities, including environmental test planning for thermal vacuum, vibration, shock, and electromagnetic compatibility; margin assessment; and final acceptance testing.
- Own the transition to volume production, including manufacturability, testability, and customer-facing documentation.
- Generate and maintain box-level documentation, including requirements, interface control documents, block diagrams, test plans, verification matrices, risk registers, and design reviews.
- Interface with spacecraft systems engineering, mission assurance, manufacturing, vendors, and test facilities.
- Drive root cause analysis, anomaly resolution, and technical risk mitigation throughout development and test campaigns.
- Communicate status, technical trades, risks, and design decisions to internal leadership and external customers.
- Demonstrated understanding of payload control systems, digital interfaces, command and data handling, and embedded hardware and software interactions.
- Proven experience executing or overseeing flight qualification and environmental test campaigns, including thermal vacuum, vibration and shock, electromagnetic compatibility, and radiation considerations.
- Experience managing hardware and software product development projects.
- Experience with radiation-tolerant design.
- Experience with high-rate manufacturing, rapid development cycles, and NewSpace ecosystems.
- Prior experience as a Responsible Engineer, Technical Lead, Integrated Product Team Lead, or Chief Engineer on flight hardware.
- Background in digital signal processing, beamforming algorithms, or embedded firmware for payload control.
- Experience mentoring less-experienced project engineers and design engineers in the associated discipline.
About the company
CesiumAstro develops end-to-end space and airborne communications systems, including active phased array antennas, software-defined radios, and complete payloads. Its technology enables electronically steered beams for inter-satellite links, high-rate downlinks, lunar and deep-space communication, and 5G/NTN networks. It ships plug‑and‑play, commercially manufactured hardware and SDR software as a full-stack solution, reducing development time and cost. The company targets both government programs (NASA, DoD) and commercial space ventures, aiming to make space-based connectivity more accessible and adaptable.
Company Size
501-1,000
Company Stage
Series C
Total Funding
$780M
Headquarters
Bee Cave, Texas
Founded
2017
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- EXIM and J.P. Morgan backed $300 million financing funds the Bee Cave factory and Texas hiring.
- April 21, 2026 Missile Defense Agency work validates Skylark for national-security modernization.
- The $470 million Series C gives CesiumAstro cash to industrialize manufacturing and scale deliveries through 2027.
What critics are saying
- Three 2026 acquisitions create integration drag and culture clashes before 2027 product revenue lands.
- CesiumAstro still depends on U.S. defense buyers, EXIM financing, and Bee Cave buildout finishing on time.
- L3Harris, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and Lockheed can crush margins on phased-array programs; CesiumAstro loses share fast.
What makes CesiumAstro unique
- CesiumAstro vertically integrates antennas, radios, semiconductors, and mission software under one roof.
- Its 2026 Jariet, Vidrovr, and 1Aardvark buys deepen full-stack space-defense autonomy.
- Skylark and Element target software-defined, mobile-ready links across missiles, satellites, and airborne platforms.
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The Export-Import Bank of the United States has signed a $300 million credit agreement with CesiumAstro, an Austin-based space and defence connectivity specialist. The agreement, announced on 9 September, aims to consolidate the company's design, manufacturing, assembly and test operations into a single 270,000-square-foot US facility currently under construction. The financing includes a $20 million revolving credit facility from JP Morgan, making it EXIM's largest loan approval under its "Make More in America" initiative. CesiumAstro is the only company to receive a second credit agreement under the programme. EXIM previously approved $185 million in financing to CesiumAstro in January 2026, later increased to $280 million. Founded in 2017, CesiumAstro recently secured a $470 million Series C funding round.
CesiumAstro buys 1Aardvark to add mission software for defense space. * 1Aardvark is a service-disabled veteran-owned and HUBZone-certified business in Manassas, Virginia * Its work covers missile defense and missile tracking programs * The deal follows CesiumAstro's purchases of Vidrovr and Jariet Technologies this year CesiumAstro has acquired 1Aardvark, adding mission software and systems engineering to a portfolio built around satellites and communications payloads. CesiumAstro announced the deal Tuesday. 1Aardvark, based in Manassas, Virginia, builds software, algorithms and systems engineering for national defense programs. It holds service-disabled veteran-owned small business and HUBZone certifications. What does 1Aardvark bring to CesiumAstro? 1Aardvark's software supports missile defense and missile tracking work. The company builds systems that enable distributed platforms to coordinate and execute missions in contested or disconnected environments. CesiumAstro expects the pairing to yield spacecraft that adjust to changing conditions and keep operating when connectivity degrades. Shey Sabripour, founder and CEO of CesiumAstro, said defense space systems increasingly require software that can adapt and make decisions. According to Ryan Kenward, president of 1Aardvark, joining CesiumAstro extends the company's work pushing mission capability to the edge. How does the deal fit CesiumAstro's acquisition strategy? The 1Aardvark deal lands days after CesiumAstro closed its purchase of Jariet Technologies, a semiconductor firm focused on millimeter-wave radio frequency system-on-chip designs. That deal gave the company in-house chip capability to pair with its phased-array antenna and payload work. The company also acquired Vidrovr in March, an AI firm specializing in real-time multimodal signal analysis. Vidrovr co-founder Joe Ellis oversees integration of machine learning tools into the CesiumAstro portfolio. CesiumAstro closed a $470 million Series C round in February and took $200 million in Export-Import Bank financing in January to acquire a 270,000-square-foot West Austin facility.
CesiumAstro’s purchase of Virginia-based 1Aardvark advances its strategy to deliver more resilient, software-defined communications and onboard systems for government missions, strengthening its position in the defence...
CesiumAstro acquires Jariet Technologies, expanding semiconductor capabilities across SATCOM, electronic warfare, radar and space systems.