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Avionics Engineer (Power Electronics) Verified today

Starpath Robotics · Future Factory · Electronics · first seen 2026-09-30
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The Role

You will own the design of Starlight's power electronics - a space solar product that powers satellites and Starpath equipment on the Moon and Mars. Your responsibility is to develop a power converter from system architecture through qualification and production.

This is a hands-on role covering converter topology, component selection, magnetics, control loops, sensing, protection circuitry, PCB design, thermal performance, and electrical interfaces. You will work closely with systems, mechanical, manufacturing, and test engineers on circuit design, simulation, hardware bring-up, testing, and failure investigation.

Responsibilities

  • Own power converter design from requirements through flight readiness
  • Translate system-level requirements into converter architecture and detailed electrical requirements
  • Select converter topologies and components based on efficiency, power density, reliability, mass, cost, and manufacturability
  • Design switching power stages, gate-drive circuits, magnetics, control loops, sensing, filtering, and protection circuitry
  • Perform circuit modeling, simulation, stability analysis, component derating, and worst-case analysis
  • Capture schematics and design power-electronics PCB layouts, including high-current paths, switching nodes, grounding, isolation, thermal management, and EMI control
  • Build, bring up, characterize, and debug converter prototypes
  • Develop and execute tests for efficiency, regulation, transient response, stability, thermal performance, emissions, and fault behavior
  • Design for launch and space environments: vibration, thermal vacuum, radiation, and electromagnetic compatibility
  • Define electrical interfaces between solar array, converter, spacecraft power system, and avionics
  • Investigate failures, determine root causes, and implement design improvements
  • Partner with manufacturing and supply-chain teams to transition design into production
  • Maintain schematics, bills of materials, analyses, interface documentation, and test records

Required Qualifications

  • 3+ years professional experience designing power electronics or power-conversion hardware
  • Experience taking a power converter from architecture through prototype, bring-up, and testing
  • Strong understanding of switch-mode power-converter topologies, control-loop design, magnetics, power semiconductors, and gate-drive design
  • Experience with current and voltage sensing, feedback networks, filtering, isolation, and hardware protection circuits
  • Strong understanding of grounding, parasitics, switching behavior, power integrity, and EMI/EMC fundamentals
  • Experience designing or directing layout of multilayer power-electronics PCBs
  • Hands-on experience with oscilloscopes, electronic loads, power supplies, network analyzers, current probes, and differential probes
  • Experience with circuit simulation, tolerance analysis, hardware bring-up, and root-cause investigation
  • Degree in Electrical Engineering or related field, or equivalent professional experience

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience designing power electronics for spacecraft, satellites, launch vehicles, aircraft, or other high-reliability systems
  • Experience with solar-array power electronics, maximum power point tracking, battery charging, or spacecraft electrical power systems
  • Experience designing high-efficiency, high-power-density DC-DC converters and custom magnetics
  • Experience with digital power control, embedded control firmware, or FPGA-based control
  • Knowledge of radiation effects, electrical component derating, and worst-case circuit analysis for space hardware
  • Experience designing for thermal vacuum, vibration, shock, and spaceflight EMC environments
  • Proficiency with Altium Designer, Cadence, LTspice, PSpice, PLECS, or similar tools
  • Experience with design-for-manufacturing, production testing, supplier qualification, or failure analysis

Position Details

  • Location: Carson, CA
  • Employment Type: Full-time
  • Department: Starlight
  • Travel: Occasional

Export Control

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, you 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 required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.