New Graduate Engineer, Electrical (Starshield)

SpaceX
Hawthorne, CA

Who this role is best for

New graduate electrical engineers with full life cycle hardware development experience will find this fast-paced, cross-functional role in aerospace communications.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with recent academic degrees and full life cycle hardware development experience in mixed-signal circuits
    — “2+ years of experience designing and implementing mixed-signal circuit boards from concept through production”
  • Individuals who thrive in cross-functional, startup-like environments with high autonomy
    — “Ability to work in a fast paced, autonomously driven, and demanding start-up atmosphere”
  • Applicants with strong systems-level thinking and a focus on innovation for complex challenges
    — “You will need to think at a system level to ensure that your design is viable”

Things to consider

  • This role may require pre-employment and random drug testing for clearance eligibility
    — “An active clearance may provide the opportunity for you to work on sensitive SpaceX missions”
  • Candidates must meet strict U.S. export regulations for eligibility
    — “To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen or national”

How to stand out

  • Emphasize full product development experience, not just incremental updates to existing hardware
    — “strong emphasis on full life cycle development of new hardware products and not small incremental updates to legacy hardware”
  • Highlight experience with mixed-signal components like SerDes, ADCs, and power supplies
    — “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”
  • Showcase debugging and testing experience with electronics in fast-paced environments
    — “2+ years of experience testing, troubleshooting and debugging electronics”
  • Demonstrate fluency in programming languages like Python and C/C++
    — “Strong understanding of computers and programming languages (Python, C/C++)”
  • Position yourself as a collaborative engineer with cross-functional team experience
    — “Demonstrated ability to work in a highly cross-functional role”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · HighDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • successful satellite communication systems
  • high reliability electronics
Typical background
electrical engineeringcomputer engineering

Skills & requirements

Required

Electronic DesignMixed-signal Circuit BoardsHardware Bring-upTesting And Debugging

Preferred

Fast-paced Project ManagementCommunication

Stack & domain

ElectronicsSatellite CommunicationElectrical ArchitectureSpecificationComponent SelectionCircuit Board DesignImplementationVerificationBoard Bring-upDebuggingSoftwareMechanicalThermalManufacturingProduction TestFast-paced ProjectsComputersProgramming LanguagesPythonC/c++TeamworkCommunicationProblem-solvingAdaptability

About the role

Original posting from SpaceX via Greenhouse

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.

NEW GRADUATE ENGINEER, ELECTRICAL (STARSHIELD)

Our SpaceX team is working on the toughest and most audacious projects on our planet: making humanity multiplanetary. As an electrical development engineer on the SpaceX team, you will demonstrate extreme ownership through detailed and thorough design, hardware bring-up/characterization/testing, and requirements generation/verification - ultimately seeing your hardware through all aspects of its life cycle. You will work with many cross-disciplinary teams and will need to think at a system level to ensure that your design is viable. Our development timelines are quick and you will need to rigorously explore solutions for previously unsolved or unknown problems. Every day, we push the limits of what is possible through innovation, determination, and teamwork to drive the mission to success.

RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Rapidly design, develop, and test highly reliable electronics for communicating with our satellites.

Drive electrical architecture, specification, component selection, circuit board design, implementation, verification, board bring-up, and debugging.

Partner with software, mechanical, thermal, manufacturing teams, and production test teams.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS: 

Bachelor's degree in electrical or computer engineering.

Graduating with a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or PhD in 2026 or 2027.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE: 

2+ years of 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 experience testing, troubleshooting and debugging electronics.

2+ years of experience with fast-paced projects.

Strong understanding of computers and programming languages (Python, C/C++).

Demonstrated ability to work in a highly cross-functional role.

Ability to work in a fast paced, autonomously driven, and demanding start-up atmosphere.

Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

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:    

Level I: $115,000.00 - $140,000.00/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. Those with an active clearance will receive a 10% differential, up to an additional $20,000 annually, once officially briefed into a classified program.

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 & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation & 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. 

Source: SpaceX careers (Greenhouse)

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