SPACE SYSTEMS

Rocket Lab’s Space Systems team is responsible for every satellite and satellite component made by Rocket Lab: from complete satellites destined for missions to the Moon and Mars, to the individual components and subsystems that make up a satellite like solar panels, flight software, reaction wheels and star trackers, separation systems, radios, and more. Our Space Systems team is made up of engineers, technicians, and designers who design, create, and put together our own satellites for missions across the commercial, government, and defense sectors, or who build and assemble satellite hardware and software that supports other satellite missions.

SENIOR ELECTRICAL ENGINEER

Based at Rocket Lab’s global headquarters in Long Beach, CA, the Senior Electrical Engineer will participate in the development and test of avionics hardware for the Photon spacecraft. You will work collaboratively with engineers of various disciplines and participate in all aspects of electrical hardware development, from requirements definition through design, prototyping, fabrication, testing, and production. As an engineer on the Photon development team, you will have frequent opportunities to test and operate your systems on-orbit.

WHAT YOU’LL GET TO DO: 

• Develop PCBA requirements in collaboration with other engineering disciplines
• Schematic capture and PCB layout using Altium Designer
• Circuit analysis, including power, tolerance, and reliability related
• PCBA design verification testing and system integration testing
• Production manufacturing support as needed

YOU’LL BRING THESE QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical or computer engineering; or other engineering discipline
• 5 years of electrical hardware design experience, including schematic capture and PCB layout
• Experience with analog electronics design
• Proficiency performing circuit analyses in SPICE and Excel

THESE QUALIFICATIONS WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE:

• Master’s or PhD in electrical or computer engineering; or other engineering discipline
• Proficiency with Altium Designer for schematic capture and layout of complex PCBs
• Proficiency with basic electronic lab equipment such as power supplies, oscilloscopes, DMMs, signal generators, soldering irons, etc.
• Knowledge with processors, FPGAs, switch mode power supplies, communications interfaces, and analog instrumentation
• Experience designing for space environments, including radiation impacts and mitigation
• Experience designing for high-reliability aerospace applications
• Experience designing rigid-flex PCBs and electromechanical design familiarity in general
• Experience with FPGA design and embedded software development for ARM core processors
• Demonstrated success working in a dynamic environment and ability to manage competing priorities

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to focus.
• Regularly required to sit, use hands and fingers, operate computer keyboard and controls, and communicate verbally and in writing. 
• Must be physically able to commute to buildings
• Occasional exposure to dust, fumes and moderate levels of noise.