Lead Radiation Effects Engineer Verified today
Kapta Space is a VC-funded early-stage startup in Seattle, WA, breaking new ground in Geospatial Intelligence. Our technology centers on a proven, scalable electronically-steered radar for sophisticated spaceborne applications such as earth observation using synthetic aperture radar (SAR) techniques, and enabling advanced defense missions such as target tracking on the ground and in the air.
We are seeking a Lead Radiation Effects Engineer to lead radiation analysis, testing, and qualification across Kapta's avionics and payload electronics. You will define the radiation environment for our missions, model system response, plan and execute radiation test campaigns, and support technical engineering design decisions to ensure on-orbit hardware reliability and performance. This role has significant scope and requires a strong, self-driven engineer capable of working independently in a fast-paced, multi-disciplinary environment.
Responsibilities
- Develop and own the company's radiation assurance strategy, defining the philosophy, requirements, and decision framework that govern radiation testing, component selection, and radiation-tolerant system design.
- Build radiation budgets, calculate margins, analyze mission environments, and assess system-level reliability.
- Plan and execute Single Event Effect (SEE), Total Ionizing Dose (TID), and Displacement Damage (DD) test campaigns at the component and assembly level.
- Analyze test results, identify vulnerabilities, and recommend mitigation strategies.
- Create and manage internal tools and workflows for radiation analysis, component qualification, and validation of component selection. Partner with engineering teams to inform component selection, derating, and architecture decisions.
- Monitor manufacturer-issued product change notifications (PCNs) and assess their impact on radiation performance and qualification.
- Support reliability analysis as it pertains to radiation effects.
- Support failure analysis and on-orbit anomaly investigations.
- Drive improvements to internal standards for radiation modeling and verification.
- Domestic travel required. Foreign travel possible.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Nuclear Engineering, or related field.
- 5+ years of experience in radiation-effects engineering for high-reliability electronics.
- Experience with radiation environment software modeling tools and resources (example: OMERE).
- Strong understanding of radiation effects, test methods, and test execution.
- Hands-on experience planning and executing radiation test campaigns.
- Experience developing analysis tools, automation, and internal data systems to support modeling, testing, and engineering workflows.
- Working knowledge of electrical schematics, including the ability to identify common components, understand basic signal flow, and locate relevant circuit information.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to work across disciplines.
Bonus Qualifications
- M.S. or Ph.D. in a relevant field.
- Experience with performing or overseeing electrical circuit analysis and implementation of radiation effects mitigations.
- Comprehensive understanding of electronics (both digital and analog), schematics, and PCB layout principles.
- Scripting and software development experience for data analysis and test automation using Matlab or Python.
- Prior experience with system reliability calculations and roll-up particularly as it pertains to radiation risks.
- Experience developing PCB schematics and layout with an ECAD tool (e.g. Altium, KiCAD, OrCAD).
- Experience with radiation testing at the PCB and subassembly level.
- Experience with FPGA/ASIC radiation characterization and mitigation.
- Prior work in small, fast-iteration aerospace teams.
Legal Requirements
U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required. To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Kapta employees must be U.S. citizens, lawful U.S. permanent residents (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State or Commerce as applicable.