Electrical Engineer I

About the Role

Star Catcher is building the first energy grid in space to power the orbital economy. We are seeking an Electrical Engineer to support the development of space-to-space power beaming spacecraft and the Star Catcher Network.

Key Responsibilities

• Support electrical circuit and board design for power distribution, communications, and control under the guidance of experienced engineers.
• Participate in the design and development of electrical circuits and systems, including schematic capture and PWB layout, following the CCA design lifecycle: requirements generation, preliminary design, peer reviews, detailed design, test plan generation, and integration and test.
• Develop and rapidly prototype electrical components and systems to verify their performance and reliability, conduct experiments to validate performance.
• Investigate prototype and integration issues using schematics, measurements, and test data; document root causes, propose design corrections, and verify changes with guidance from experienced engineers.
• Utilize schematic software suites to generate circuit card designs, including schematic capture, constraint-driven layout, simulation, and timing analysis.
• Support the manufacturing and assembly of electrical components and work with suppliers and manufacturers to procure parts, ensuring they meet design specifications and quality standards.
• Engage in R&D to innovate new technologies or improve existing systems to enhance mission capabilities.
• Work closely with cross-functional teams to integrate electrical systems and components into spacecraft, satellites, and other systems.
• Create technical documentation, including schematics, specifications, and test plans, to support compliance and future reference.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Foundational understanding of circuit design, electrical schematics, and PCB layout principles.
• Willingness to learn space-specific design practices and standards.
• Creative problem-solving skills to develop innovative solutions to advanced engineering challenges.
• Hardware debugging skills, with experience operating signal generators, logic analyzers, and digital oscilloscopes.
• Effective communication skills with the ability to work across disciplines, communicate status and technical issues clearly, and prioritize assigned tasks.

Desired Skills

• Exposure to high-reliability PCB design and fabrication requirements, such as IPC-6012 Class 3 and applicable space requirements.
• Experience with Altium Designer.
• Coursework, internship, personal-project, or professional exposure to one or more of the following: batteries, microprocessors, FPGAs, solar arrays, or power distribution/conversion.
• Foundational electrical analysis skills.
• Exposure to high-speed memory and network interfaces and protocols.
• Knowledge of digital design techniques and devices.
• Interest in learning spacecraft design, verification, and applicable electrical safety practices.