Satellite Engineer, Harness Design (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.

SATELLITE ENGINEER, HARNESS DESIGN (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 looking to hire a satellite harness design engineer to work with a brilliant and passionate team of engineers. As a harness design engineer on the Starshield team, you will own harness design from the early stages of developing the vehicle electrical connectivity to component selection, qualification, production, and ultimately flight. This role is extremely multidisciplinary and will give you unparalleled exposure to high-level vehicle architecture. 

RESPONSIBILITIES: 

• Act as responsible engineer for the satellite’s avionics interconnection systems, across design, integration, test, and in-orbit 
• Define detailed system design, including system interconnect schematics, harness and channel capabilities, fault tolerance, reliability, vehicle risk, and configuration change management 
• Work collaboratively with cross-functional stakeholders to architect the space vehicle’s power and network connectivity 
• Contribute to overall physical layout design to improve size, weight, power, and ease of assembly of the entire satellite
• Develop design criteria, collaborate on requirements with all engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, RF, EMI, etc), and drive system-level optimization 
• Own product delivery timeline through conception, design, assembly, and launch 
• Design satellite wire harnesses with an emphasis on reducing part/process count, error-proofing every step of fabrication and integration, and achieving consistent performance and production metrics 
• Develop harness design solutions in CAD, develop manufacturing procedures and documentation, and produce drawings that clearly articulate the design intent for production 
• Qualify designs for flight environments including thermal, vibration, and shock, with a combination of analysis and physical testing (both mechanical and electrical) 
• Work closely with manufacturing and supply chain counterparts to ensure conforming harness products are delivered to the satellite manufacturing line.  
• Demonstrate extreme ownership of product outcomes at every stage of development and production 

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: 

• Bachelor's degree in electrical, mechanical, or other engineering discipline 
• 1+ years of electro-mechanical wire harness design experience (internships, student projects, and professional experience are applicable) 

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: 

• Ability and willingness to obtain a Top Secret clearance 
• Experience with system trades and first-hand knowledge of how requirements tie hardware to larger systems 
• Proficiency with Siemens NX and Teamcenter 
• Experience with CAD and FEA software packages  
• Experience with electrical and optical harness design. In particular, schematic or wiring diagram definition, 3D design, formboard creation, 3D modeling of complex top-level assemblies, 3D modeling and analysis of avionics enclosures and secondary structure 
• Experience with harness design with complex requirements or environmental considerations in an at-rate manufacturing setting, such as in the aerospace, automotive, or marine industry. 
• Experience with connector, wire, cable, fiber, overwrap, and shield component specification and selection. 
• 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 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: 

• Ability to work long hours and weekends as necessary to meet mission-critical deadlines 
• Ability to travel to SpaceX, vendors, customers, and partner locations as necessary  
• 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:
Engineer/Level I: $95,000.00 - $115,000.00/per year

Engineer/Level II: $110,000.00 - $130,000.00/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.

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 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.

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.