Staff Electrical Engineer - RPU Unit Lead Verified today

About the Role

CesiumAstro seeks a Staff Electrical Engineer to serve as Unit Lead (Responsible Engineer) for our Reconfigurable Processing Unit (RPU) product line. RPUs are VPX-based electronics boxes integrating software-defined radios, single-board computers, power supply modules, RF front ends, and modems.

You will own both technical definition and execution of new RPU products from concept through flight qualification. This combines multi-disciplinary technical accountability with schedule ownership and cross-functional leadership in a fast-paced startup environment.

Your Responsibilities

• Serve as primary technical point of contact and Unit Lead for RPU box throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Lead end-to-end engineering effort including architecture, design, prototyping, integration, test, environmental qualification, and flight readiness.
• Coordinate and direct RF, digital, power, mechanical, thermal, software, and systems engineers.
• Hold schedule accountability for box development.
• Develop and review payload control schemes, internal data interfaces, command and telemetry architecture, and firmware/software integration.
• Manage flight qualification activities including environmental test planning (thermal vacuum, vibration, shock, EMC), margin assessment, and acceptance testing.
• Own transition to volume production including manufacturability, testability, and customer documentation.
• Generate and maintain box-level documentation: requirements, ICDs, block diagrams, test plans, verification matrices, risk registers, and design reviews.
• Interface with spacecraft systems engineering, mission assurance, manufacturing, vendors, and test facilities.
• Drive root cause analysis, anomaly resolution, and technical risk mitigation throughout development and test.
• Communicate status, technical trades, risks, and design decisions to internal leadership and customers.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 8 years of engineering experience in electronics hardware development.
• Hands-on experience with software-defined radios or related technologies.
• Leadership experience including mentoring or leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Strong knowledge of systems engineering practices, requirements flowdown, verification/validation, and configuration management.
• Excellent communication skills with ability to present complex technical information to diverse audiences.

Preferred Experience

• Understanding of payload control systems, digital interfaces, command and data handling, and embedded hardware/software interactions.
• Experience executing or overseeing flight qualification and environmental test campaigns (TVAC, vibration/shock, EMC, radiation considerations).
• Hardware/software product development project management.
• Radiation-tolerant design.
• High-rate manufacturing, rapid development cycles, or NewSpace ecosystems.
• Prior role as Responsible Engineer, Technical Lead, IPT Lead, or Chief Engineer on flight hardware.
• Background in digital signal processing, beamforming algorithms, or embedded firmware for payload control.
• Experience mentoring less-experienced project and design engineers.

Employment Details

Full-time position. Compensation includes company stock options and benefits: health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability, and retirement plans.

Required Authorization

To conform with United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, conditional resident, asylee, refugee, or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.