Sr. PCB Designer (Starship) Verified today

The Role

As a PCB Designer on the Starship team, you'll create layouts for in-house board designs that power humanity's next generation of spacecraft. You'll partner closely with Hardware Development Engineers during schematic development, providing expertise at design reviews and iterating to deliver optimal solutions. You'll work on diverse designs from radio phased arrays to power converters.

What You'll Do

• Determine layer stack-up, perform component package selection, placement, routing feasibility studies, and signal routing of digital, analog, RF, and power conversion PCBs
• Perform multilayer PCB layout (20+ layers) including component placement, high-speed routing (differential pairs, length matching), controlled impedance, and power/ground plane design
• Conduct pre- and post-layout SI/PI simulations to mitigate crosstalk, reflections, and EMI/EMC issues
• Perform DRC/ERC checks, peer reviews, and design audits; collaborate with hardware and firmware engineers for functional validation and prototype bring-up support
• Produce fabrication deliverables (Gerber, ODB++, IPC-2581, drill files, stack-up drawings, assembly files)
• Analyze designs for manufacturability and incorporate production feedback from fabrication houses and assembly partners to reduce costs and improve yield
• Collaborate with internal teams and PCB vendors to improve design rules, constraints, and design for test and manufacture guidelines
• Customize and verify symbols, footprints, and 3D models; interface with PCB librarians for new parts and resolve library discrepancies
• Work with mechanical, thermal, RF, and test engineers on stack-up planning, thermal vias, shielding, and enclosure integration; participate in design reviews and risk assessments
• Assist librarians in creating, updating, and maintaining PCB component libraries including symbols, footprints, 3D STEP models, and parametric data in CAD tools like Altium and Xpedition
• Drive the future roadmap to incorporate custom AI tools to improve the efficiency of PCB design tasks

Requirements

• 5+ years of professional experience with PCB layout

Preferred Experience

• 5+ years of PCB layout and routing with modern passive and active electronics components, surface-mount, RF components, ball-grid array, or high pin density components
• 2+ years with ECAD libraries and library configuration management
• Demonstrated understanding of design for manufacturability, assembly, and test
• Experience with Mentor Xpedition and/or Altium Designer (Mentor Xpedition preferred)
• Layout of mixed analog and digital designs, high-speed buses, FPGA, DRAM and CPU designs, power supplies, DC-DC converters, transmission lines, impedance-controlled traces and power traces
• Proficiency in generating fabrication outputs (Gerber, ODB++, IPC-2581, drill files), DFM/DFA analysis, constraint-driven design, and collaboration with libraries
• Ability to visualize component placement and interconnectivity
• Proficiency in Python, Altium/Mentor Xpedition scripting, or similar for automating library tasks, data extraction, and validation
• Cross-functional project management skills and ability to collaborate with other engineering disciplines
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, autonomously driven, demanding start-up atmosphere
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

Additional Information

Extended hours and weekend work may be required to support critical project and mission milestones.

Compensation

Base salary range: $130,000-$230,000 per year. Actual level and salary determined case-by-case based on job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Your total rewards package includes long-term incentives in the form of company stock, stock options, or long-term cash awards, potential discretionary bonuses, and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks are also included. You will accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Paid sick leave accrues pursuant to company policy.

Clearance and Eligibility

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.