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.
POWER ELECTRONICS ENGINEER (CREW STARSHIP)
Become a part of the Crew Starship Avionics team and support the mission to revolutionize orbital flight and space travel – opening access for humankind to establish new frontiers in space, and ultimately make humans a multi-planetary species.
The Crew Starship Avionics team has taken the challenge to develop avionics for the SpaceX Human Landing System, which will soon carry astronauts to the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program, and ultimately to Mars. Across all systems, from communications, to power, to life support, to navigation, and even creature comforts, our team’s hardware will safely support astronauts on their Lunar and Mars missions, while humanity looks on. This will be one of the most sophisticated and largest crewed vehicles flown in space, and will be developed at a cost and rate previously considered unthinkable in the space industry. Become a part of this fast moving and world class development team, working with super smart and motivated engineers, and achieve truly audacious goals. If you’re ready for a challenge then you’ve come to the right place. Come join our team and help take humanity back to the moon!
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Develop high reliability spacecraft electronics for Crew Starship vehicles, with a specialization in power electronics
- Act as a responsible engineer for flight hardware, from conception through build, qualification, and ultimately flight operations
- Drive system trades, requirements capture, component selection, design analysis, schematic capture, prototyping, bring-up, debugging, design documentation, manufacturing planning, and production test for electrical designs
- Create development and qualification testing campaigns to exercise designs to their limits and ensure reliable flight hardware
- Directly support NASA with deliverables for Crew Starship milestones
- Work with experts from other teams and departments to ensure that fielded systems perform their intended function while being efficient, manufacturable, and reliable; challenge assumptions and build strong professional relationships
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering
- 3+ years of design experience designing power electronics (research and extracurricular academic projects qualify)
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Passion for spaceflight and designing electronics for high reliability applications
- Experience developing new hardware, not just incremental updates
- Experience working through system trades, pushing back on requirements, and following through with verification and validation
- Self-starter with experience making hardware work within demanding time and resource constraints
- Experience with multiple power conversion topologies
- Experience with power stage component selection, analysis, and modelling, including custom magnetics
- Knowledge of filter design for stability, noise rejection, and surviving threat signals
- Experience with control loop design, analysis and testing
- Experience testing power converters and working with hazardous voltages
- Experience with schematic capture and board layout, preferably in Altium or Circuit Maker
- Proficiency with circuit simulation tools and analysis methods such as derating and worst-case circuit analysis
- Proficiency with lab equipment for development testing of circuits and components, including probing and grounding techniques
- Proficiency with board level rework in support of development testing
- Knowledge of EMI/EMC and best practices for designing compliant hardware
- Experience with design-for-manufacture and design-for-cost
- Experience writing engineering software for test automation, data review, and design analysis, preferably in MATLAB or Python
- Demonstrated project management skills and ability to collaborate with other engineering disciplines
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Extended hours and weekend work may be required to support critical project and mission milestones
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
Pay range:
Power Electronics Engineer/Level I: $100,000.00 – $120,000.00/per year
Power Electronics Engineer/Level II: $115,000.00 – $150,000.00/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. Exempt employees are eligible for 5 days of sick leave per year.
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 notify the Human Resources Department at (310) 363-6000.
