Sr. Hardware Development Engineer, Gateways & Customer Hardware (Starlink)

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

SR. HARDWARE ENGINEER, GATEWAYS & CUSTOMER HARDWARE (STARLINK)

Starlink believes in providing fast, reliable internet to serve populations with little or no connectivity. We design, build, launch, and operate the world's largest constellation of satellites, enabling us to operate a global internet network unbounded by traditional ground infrastructure limitations.  The root of SpaceX’s success so far lies in our mission to keep all engineering and production in-house, which enables a tight feedback loop, nimble decision-making, and speedy deliverables. With millions of daily users worldwide already online, Starlink is truly a game changer and levels the playing field for those who were previously unconnected.

The Starlink Product Development Team is responsible for the development of:

• Customer-facing products which are manufactured in the range of many millions per year (Phased Array, Wi-Fi Router, Power Supplies)

• High performance / high reliability electronics that are used in the Starlink Gateway and Ground Systems (Control Boards, Motor Controllers, High Power Supplies, Advanced RF Electronics, Battery Systems)

• High-performance compute and networking electronics that are used in the Starlink Network

As a Sr. Hardware Engineer on the Starlink team, you will have complete ownership over the development of these products over their full lifetime.  You will work regularly with partner teams across silicon, software, mechanical, RF, and manufacturing to take this hardware from initial concept development through full-scale production.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design, develop, and test highly reliable electronics for communicating with our satellites

• Partner with software, mechanical, thermal, manufacturing, and production test teams

• Drive system trades, requirements capture, component selection, analysis, schematic capture, PCB layout, prototyping, hardware bring-up, debugging, documentation, manufacturing, and test of complex electrical designs

• Get hands-on and support hardware through production, satellite integration, and flight

• Work closely with engineers from adjacent disciplines (mechanical, thermal, software, test engineering, supply chain, silicon design, etc.) to deliver tightly integrated, high-performance hardware

• Drive continual improvements to our designs by building physical and digital tools to analyze data collected on orbit and in the lab

• Challenge assumptions and work to find simple solutions to complex problems

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or other engineering discipline

• 5+ years of professional experience designing circuits, electronic products, or hardware

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or similar engineering degree

• 8+ years of professional experience rapidly designing and delivering highly reliable products

• 8+ years of electronic product experience designing hardware from concept through production; strong emphasis on full life cycle development of new hardware products and not small incremental updates to legacy hardware

• 8+ 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

• 8+ 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

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission critical deadlines

ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to EEOCompliance@spacex.com.