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Radiation Effects Engineer - Modeling Verified today

Astranis · San Francisco, CA · Electronics · first seen 2026-10-07
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Radiation Effects Engineer - Modeling

You will own the analytical definition of our spacecraft's radiation and charging environments, transforming physical theory into actionable design constraints. You will serve as an authority on radiation transport, orbital environment propagation, and charging physics. This modeling will help guide our hardware, mechanical, and systems teams in PCB design and engineering posture for safe navigation of geostationary orbit (GEO) and other space environments.

Responsibilities

  • Own the analytical model of the geostationary (GEO) radiation environment, modeling trapped particle populations (AP8/AP9, AE8/AE9), solar proton fluences (Sapphire), and galactic cosmic rays (CREME96)
  • Perform high-fidelity 3D Monte Carlo and sector-analysis radiation transport simulations using FASTRAD against complex spacecraft CAD assemblies to generate local, component-level dose-depth curves
  • Lead analytical studies on spacecraft charging, including surface charging (using NASCAP-2k or SPIS-SC) and internal charging (using FASTRAD internal charging calculations or SPIS-IC) to prevent electrostatic discharge (ESD) risks
  • Develop, scale, and maintain Python-based pipelines to process, analyze, and visualize transport simulation datasets, automating the generation of spacecraft-wide dose budgets
  • Translate complex simulation data into actionable engineering guidance for shielding allocation, material selection, and electrical grounding architectures

Requirements

  • Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent
  • 2+ years of industry experience using radiation environment tools such as OMERE or SPENVIS and transport tools such as FASTRAD, Geant4, or MCNP
  • Solid theoretical foundation in radiation interaction with matter, including ionization, non-ionizing energy loss, charge deposition, and secondary bremsstrahlung generation
  • Experience modeling spacecraft charging physics and electric field buildup in dielectrics
  • Proficiency in Python for mathematical post-processing, data scraping, and modeling automation
  • High-degree of ownership and technical depth; ability to evaluate complex system trade-offs with sparse initial data

Bonus Qualifications

  • Master of Science or PhD in Nuclear Engineering, Nuclear Physics, or equivalent with a research focus on space radiation environments or spacecraft charging phenomena
  • Deep knowledge of deep dielectric charging failure mechanisms (ECEMP) and industry standard mitigations (grounding straps, conductive coatings, slot-venting geometries)
  • Familiarity with the ISO 11221 spacecraft charging standard or MIL-STD-883 Test Method 1019

Compensation

Base salary: $120,000 to $145,000 USD. Compensation includes equity via incentive stock options, company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.

Required

U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status required to comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations.