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.

SR. 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. 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 mission, 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 and would like to help take humanity back to the moon then you’ve come to the right place!

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Rapidly develop high reliability spacecraft electronics and systems for Crew Starship vehicles, with expertise in power electronics design
• Act as responsible engineer for flight hardware, from conception through build, qualification, and ultimately flight operations
• Drive system and electrical architecture trades, product requirements, component selection, design analysis, schematic capture, prototyping, bring-up, design documentation, manufacturing planning, and production test for electrical designs
• Provide technical leadership across the organization, manage related risk and change across the program, drive new technology introduction, and provide mentoring for junior engineers
• Define validation approach and create development and qualification testing campaigns to exercise designs to their limits and ensure reliable flight hardware
• Act as liaison with NASA counterparts to provide technical insight, and lead creation of deliverables for Crew Starship milestones
• Act as primary point of contact 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
• 5+ years of design experience designing power electronics (research and extracurricular academic projects qualify)

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Passion for spaceflight and demonstrated experience designing high quality 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 demonstrated experience on multiple projects making hardware work within demanding time and resource constraints
• Detailed knowledge and experience with multiple power conversion topologies
• High level of proficiency with power stage component selection, analysis, and modelling, including custom magnetics
• Proficiency with filter design for stability, noise rejection, and surviving threat signals
• Proficiency with control loop design, analysis and testing
• Proficiency with testing power converters and working with hazardous voltages
• Proficiency with schematic capture and board layout, producing clean and maintainable designs, preferably in Altium or Circuit Maker
• High level of proficiency with circuit simulation tools and formal analysis methods, such as derating and worst case circuit analysis
• High level of proficiency with lab equipment for development testing of circuits and components, including sophisticated test definition, troubleshooting, data collection, and data reduction techniques
• Proficient at board level rework in support of development testing
• Solid working knowledge of EMI/EMC underlying physics and specifications, along with best practices for design, and strategies for addressing test exceedances
• Experience producing high rate designs which are optimized for manufacturability and cost
• Proficiency writing software for test automation, data review, and design analysis, preferably in MATLAB or Python
• Cross functional project management skills and ability to collaborate with other engineering disciplines, as demonstrated on multiple programs
• 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:          

Sr. Power Electronics Engineer: $130,000.00 - $200,000.00/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.