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Principal Electrical Engineer, AI Satellites (Starmind) Verified today

SpaceX · Bastrop, TX · Electronics · first seen 2026-09-18
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Principal Electrical Hardware Engineer, AI Satellites (Starmind)

SpaceX is developing Starmind, a new constellation of satellites that capture solar energy in space to power low-cost, high-performance AI compute for Earth. This demands highly reliable electrical hardware ranging from power electronics, high-speed digital systems, mixed-signal designs, avionics, networking, and custom compute electronics that operate in the extreme environment of space.

The Starmind team designs, builds, and operates the orbital compute fabric of the future. As an engineer on the Starmind Payload Engineering team, you'll have ownership over the entire life-cycle of hardware that enables advanced on-orbit AI processing and data center workloads. Your work sits at the intersection of electrical, mechanical, thermal, and software engineering.

Responsibilities

  • Rapidly develop high-reliability electronics for satellites and spacecraft
  • Drive system trades, requirements capture, component selection, analysis, schematic capture, PCB layout, prototyping, hardware bring-up, debugging, documentation, manufacturing, test, and on-orbit performance of complex electrical designs
  • Get hands-on and support hardware through production, satellite integration, and flight
  • Determine layer stackup, perform component package selection, component placement, routing feasibility studies, and signal routing of digital, analog, RF, and power conversion PCBs
  • Create and maintain design libraries
  • Create and release documentation for PCB fabrication
  • Collaborate with internal teams and PCB vendors to improve design rules, constraints, and design for test and manufacture guidelines
  • Work closely with engineers from adjacent disciplines (mechanical, thermal, software, test engineering, supply chain, silicon design) to deliver tightly integrated, high-performance hardware
  • Challenge assumptions, question requirements, learn from mistakes, and approach problems with an open mind

Basic Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or physics
  • 10+ years of industry experience designing circuits, electronic products, or hardware

Preferred Skills and Experience

  • Master's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or similar engineering discipline
  • 2+ years of professional 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
  • 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 professional experience testing, troubleshooting, and debugging electronics
  • Strong understanding of computers and programming languages (Python, C/C++)
  • Demonstrated ability to work in a highly cross-functional role
  • 2+ years working on aerospace systems

Additional Requirements

  • Ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission-critical deadlines
  • Some travel may occasionally be required
  • Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident, Refugee under 8 U.S.C. Section 1157, or Asylee under 8 U.S.C. Section 1158, or be eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State (ITAR requirement)