Electrical Design Engineer, User Products (Starshield)

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

ELECTRICAL DESIGN ENGINEER, USER PRODUCTS (STARSHIELD)

Starshield leverages SpaceX’s Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts. The User Products team within Starshield furthers these efforts by putting modern communications technology into the hands of government end users, giving them access to high speed and low latency data anywhere in the world. 

The User Products team is looking to hire an electrical design engineer to work with a brilliant and passionate team of engineers. In this role you will own conceptualization, design, qualification, and integration of Starshield’s custom hardware that is used in the toughest environments around the world. This role demands strong technical, design, and analysis skills, the drive to get your work over the finish line, and close coordination with mechanical engineers to realize high-reliability and high-performance products.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design, develop, and test highly reliable electronics for communicating with our satellites
• Drive system trades, requirements capture, component selection, analysis, schematic capture, PCB layout, prototyping, hardware bring-up, debugging, documentation, manufacturing, and test of complex electrical designs
• Work closely with engineers from adjacent disciplines (mechanical, thermal, software, test engineering, supply chain, silicon design, etc.) to deliver tightly integrated, high-performance hardware
• Drive continual improvements to our designs by building physical and digital tools to analyze data collected in the field and in the lab
• Challenge assumptions and work to find simple solutions to complex problems
• Own hardware from conceptual design through volume production and real-world operations to support customers’ needs
• Rapidly iterate on designs and analysis to inform high-level system trades and steer overall product direction
• Perform performance testing on hardware to validate analysis and demonstrate compliance with design criteria
• Demonstrate extreme ownership of product outcomes at every stage of development and production

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or STEM discipline
• 1+ years of professional experience designing circuits, electronic products, or hardware (internship and extracurricular experience are applicable)

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or similar engineering degree
• 2+ years of professional experience rapidly designing and delivering highly reliable products
• 2+ years of electronic product experience designing hardware from concept through production; strong emphasis on full life cycle development of new hardware products and not small incremental updates to legacy hardware
• 2+ years of experience designing and implementing mixed-signal circuit boards from concept through production using processors, FPGAs, Ethernet, multi-GHz Serdes, DRAM interfaces (DDR4), I2C, SPI, operational amplifiers, analog to digital and digital to analog converters, and power supply components
• 2+ years of professional experience testing, troubleshooting, and debugging electronics
• Strong understanding of computers and programming languages (Python, C/C++)
• Demonstrated ability to work in a highly cross-functional role
• Demonstrated ability to own hardware or systems within an integrated engineering team outside a classroom setting (FSAE, Engineers without Borders, Student Directed Research, Design-Build-Fly, NASA student launch, personal entrepreneurial ventures, etc.)
• Self-motivated with strong organizational, written, and oral communication skills
• Ability and willingness to obtain a Top Secret clearance

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• An active clearance may provide the opportunity for you to work on sensitive SpaceX missions; if so, you will be subject to pre-employment drug and random drug and alcohol testing

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:    

Pay range:    
Electrical Hardware Design Engineer/Level I: $100,000.00 - $120,000.00/per year    
Electrical Hardware Design Engineer/Level II: $115,000.00 - $135,000.00/per year    
    
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. Those with an active clearance will receive a 10% differential, up to an additional $15,000 annually, once officially briefed into a classified program.

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, stock options, 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 & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation & 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.

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 the ITAR here.  

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to EEOCompliance@spacex.com.