Principal Design Reliability Engineer

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by $450M from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, and others – with an additional $500M in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers – we’re mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space. 

The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today’s and tomorrow’s massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits. 

With multiple launches planned through 2026 and 2027, we're Building Bigger to develop the solar system and become a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a groundbreaking Series C space startup, we’d love for you to apply. 

The Role

You will ensure that every K2 spacecraft is designed, documented, and verified using rigorous, standardized processes that consistently meet requirements and deliver exceptionally reliable flight systems. You will own and continuously improve the design reliability framework for our spacecraft, driving the creation, enforcement, and evolution of design standards across the engineering organization.  

You will lead development of K2’s design review processes, review templates, configuration management practices, and design verification standards, ensuring that each design iteration adheres to high-reliability principles and is validated in a consistent, traceable manner. You will exercise formal design review signoff authority and serve as a key technical gatekeeper during development.  

As production begins, you will guide a disciplined handoff to Build Reliability, ensuring that manufacturing and test teams inherit well‑documented, fully verified designs. This role is ideal for a systems-minded engineer who thrives on structure, rigor, and enabling teams to build high-powered hardware right the first time.   

Responsibilities  

• Develop and maintain standardized design review processes, including templates, workflows, and review structures  
• Serve as a design review signoff authority, ensuring all designs meet internal and customer requirements and reliability criteria before release  
• Establish, document, and enforce comprehensive design and verification standards across engineering  
• Define and manage design configuration management practices to ensure controlled, traceable design evolution  
• Drive consistency in requirement interpretation, verification methods, and documentation across all engineering teams  
• Partner with engineering leads to ensure designs are completed in a standard, verified fashion aligned with program requirements  
• Lead and participate in cross-disciplinary reviews to evaluate design readiness, compliance, and verification closure  
• Provide structured and complete design handoffs to Build Reliability as programs transition into production  
• Ensure production and flight lessons learned are systematically captured and incorporated into future design iterations to drive continuous improvement and reliability growth  
• Establish and enforce standardized processes for acceptance and qualification testing to ensure consistent, repeatable, and requirements‑compliant execution  
• Operate effectively in a rapidly evolving startup where agility, autonomy, and proactive problem-solving are essential  

Qualifications  

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, aerospace, mechanical, computer, or other relevant engineering discipline  
• 6 years of experience in technical aerospace or manufacturing  
• 3 years of experience managing projects, technical trades, and/or technical teams  
• Strong understanding of launch vehicles, spacecraft, or other aerospace systems  
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills  

Nice to Have  

• Master’s degree or PhD in an engineering or science discipline  
• 10 years of experience in technical aerospace or manufacturing  
• 5 years of experience managing projects or technical trades  
• Active Top Secret or TS/SCI clearance  
• Experience leading Spacecraft mission design, development, integration, test, and/or launch across multiple departments  
• Proven ability to innovate in process improvement and system architectures  
• Skilled in generating executive summaries to drive decision making through senior leadership discussions  
• Familiarity with contracts and mission requirements evaluations  
• Demonstrated track record of project ownership, responsibility for execution, and successful outcomes  
• Ability to travel up to 25% of the time 

Compensation and Benefits  

• Base salary range for this role is $175,000 - $200,000 equity in the company  
• Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level  
• Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks 

If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged!

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

Export Compliance

As defined in the ITAR, “U.S. Persons” include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult with a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a “U.S. Person.”

The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

Equal Opportunity

K2 Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with K2 Space 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.