Principal Electrical Design Engineer, Satellites (Starlink)

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 ofenabling human life on Mars.

PRINCIPAL ELECTRICAL DESIGN ENGINEER (STARLINK)

SpaceX is leveraging its experience in building rockets and spacecraft to deploy Starlink the worlds most advanced broadband internet system. Starlink is the worlds largest satellite constellation and is providing fast reliable internet to 8M users worldwide. We design build test and operate all parts of the system thousands of satellites consumer receivers that allow users to connect within minutes of unboxing and the software that brings it all together. Weve only begun to scratch the surface of Starlinks potential global impact. As we continue to upgrade and expand the constellation were looking for best-in-class engineers to join the team.

As a Principal Electrical Design Engineer on Starlink youll have ownership over the entire life-cycle of the hardware that enables this connectivity and sits at the intersection of electrical mechanical thermal analysis software and antenna/RF engineering. Challenges range from high-speed digital communications analog network system integration power electronics and RF devices. Your work will include everything from system design and schematic capture to PCB layout oversight; as well as hardware troubleshooting to driving requirements for the underlying silicon and complete product production and test. This also includes driving successful business outcomes across interdisciplinary subsystems of the satellite inclusive of mechanical and software engineering peers among other engineering disciplines. Sub-teams include:

• Avionics: The backbone of Starlink satellites are the bus avionics systems which control the vehicle convert and distribute kilowatts of power route high-speed vehicle and user traffic and connect satellites to each other via our state-of-the-art Space Lasers! The team is responsible for the design development and ultimate success of these avionics systems from concept to grave.
• Payload: Starlink satellites employ industry leading phased arrays parabolic antennas and fully custom compute modem electronics in order to deliver this connectivity to our customers. The Payload team is responsible for the design development and ultimate success of this hardware from concept to grave.

Your placement on these teams will be determined throughout the interviewing process after factoring in technical fit expertise and your personal preference

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design develop and test highly reliable electronics for communicating with our satellites
• Evaluate third party electrical and design integration solutions for reliable operation of Starlink
• Partner with software mechanical thermal manufacturing teams and production test teams
• 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
• Get hands-on and support hardware through production satellite integration and flight
• 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 on orbit and in the lab
• Challenge assumptions and work to find simple solutions to complex problems

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelors degree in electrical engineering or computer engineering
• 8 years of experience designing circuits electronic products or hardware (internship and project team experience is applicable)

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Masters 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
• 2 years working on aerospace systems

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission critical deadlines
• Some roles may require working on an on-call basis on a weeklong rotational schedule (On-Orbit Reliability only)

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

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 in Washington State accrue paid sick time in compliance with state and federal law. Company shuttles are offered to employees for roundtrip travel from select Seattle locations to the SpaceX Redmond office Monday to Friday

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 SpaceXs Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to.