Principal Electrical Engineer, AI Satellites (Starmind)
About this role
The Starmind team at SpaceX designs, builds, and operates an orbital compute fabric of specialized satellites capturing solar energy in space to power low-cost, high-performance AI compute for Earth. Engineers in this group develop nearly every key piece of technology in-house, including flight computers, power systems, custom compute electronics, memory, and networking that form the brain of on-orbit data centers.
Ownership spans the entire life-cycle of hardware enabling advanced on-orbit AI processing and data center workloads, sitting directly at the intersection of electrical, mechanical, thermal, and software engineering. Professionals joining this group handle everything from system trades and schematic capture to PCB layout, prototyping, hardware bring-up, and on-orbit performance verification.
Ideal candidates bring deep technical rigor in circuit design and hardware development, paired with a willingness to challenge assumptions and collaborate closely across multiple engineering disciplines. The work suits engineers who thrive in hands-on manufacturing environments and want to build physical infrastructure destined for the extreme conditions of space.
What you will do
- Rapidly develop high-reliability electronics for satellites and spacecraft.
- Drive system trades, requirements capture, component selection, analysis, schematic capture, PCB layout, prototyping, hardware bring-up, debugging, documentation, manufacturing, test, and on-orbit performance of complex electrical designs.
- Get hands-on and support hardware through production, satellite integration, and flight.
- Determine layer stackup, perform component package selection, component placement, routing feasibility studies, and signal routing of digital, analog, RF, and power conversion of PCBs.
- Create and release documentation for fabrication of PCBs while maintaining component libraries.
- Collaborate with internal teams and PCB vendors to continually improve design rules, constraints, and design for test and manufacture guidelines.
- Work closely with engineers from adjacent disciplines to deliver tightly integrated, high-performance hardware.
What you need
- Hold a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or physics.
- Possess 10 or more years of industry experience designing circuits, electronic products, or hardware.
- Conform to U.S. Government export regulations under ITAR requirements by being a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or eligible for required authorizations.
- Demonstrate the ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission-critical deadlines.
Nice to have
- Master’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or similar engineering degree
- 2+ years of professional experience rapidly designing and delivering highly reliable products
- 2+ years of electronic product experience designing hardware from concept through production
- 2+ years of experience designing and implementing mixed-signal circuit boards using processors, FPGAs, Ethernet, multi-GHz Serdes, DRAM interfaces, and power supply components
- 2+ years of experience working on aerospace systems
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the primary focus of the Starmind team?
The Starmind team designs, builds, and operates the orbital compute fabric of the future. The group develops nearly every key piece of technology in house, ranging from flight computers and power systems to custom compute electronics, memory, and networking.
What kind of schedule should candidates expect?
Applicants must have the ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission critical deadlines. Some travel may occasionally be required.
What are the citizenship or residency requirements for this role?
To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicants must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. lawful permanent resident, refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.