Electrical Engineer II

Helogen•Los Angeles, CA

1d•$130,000 - $150,000

About The Position

Helogen is seeking a Senior Electrical Engineer II in Los Angeles, California, to lead the design and development of electrical power systems for Keystar, its orbital power plant project. The engineer will own the spacecraft electronics that generate, condition, store, and distribute power, guiding electrical hardware from an initial smallsat demonstrator through the high-voltage power management and distribution architecture needed as the program scales. The role combines hands-on hardware development with responsibility for power-electronics architecture and design standards. The engineer will work with a resourceful, rapidly prototyping team that values individual ownership, accountability, and trust.

Requirements

At least 6 years of experience in electrical design and circuit analysis for spacecraft.
Direct experience with spacecraft power systems, such as solar arrays, PCDUs, battery management systems, or high-voltage power distribution.
Strong experience in schematic capture, PCB layout, and circuit design.
In-depth understanding of power electronics, including DC-DC conversion, power distribution, battery management, and switching efficiency.
Experience designing or qualifying high-voltage power electronics, including understanding corona discharge, electrical breakdown in vacuum, insulation, and component derating.
Strong understanding of analog and digital electronics, component selection, and electrical compatibility.
Fluency with Design for Manufacturing (DFM) principles and electronics fabrication and assembly.
Hands-on experience with rapid prototyping and hardware testing, including breadboarding, PCB assembly, bench testing, and debugging.
Proficiency with electronic design and analysis tools such as Altium, KiCad, SPICE, or equivalent.
Familiarity with space-environment design considerations, including radiation, thermal-vacuum testing, and electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC).
Knowledge of relevant engineering standards for spacecraft power systems, high-voltage design, environmental testing, and EMI/EMC.
Experience taking hardware through formal design reviews and qualification under configuration control.
Flexibility, resourcefulness, decisiveness, and ability to evaluate tradeoffs, manage risk, and make sound engineering decisions.
Hands-on approach to hardware development, including building, testing, and iterating physical systems.
Must be a U.S. Person under U.S. export control regulations or otherwise eligible to access export-controlled information and technology; the posting identifies U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and protected individuals admitted as refugees or granted asylum.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of embedded systems, firmware, sensor interfaces, precision measurement, or instrumentation.
Experience through AI&T and formal design reviews; experience mentoring junior engineers.
Startup or early-stage engineering experience.

Responsibilities

Own the Keystar spacecraft electrical power subsystem (EPS/PCDU), including power generation, conditioning, distribution, and battery systems.
Establish the high-voltage power management and distribution (PMAD) architecture as the program scales; set technical parameters, evaluate tradeoffs, manage margins and risks, and develop high-voltage PCDU/PMAD and EMI-filtering solutions.
Design high-voltage systems for reliable operation in vacuum, addressing electrical breakdown, corona discharge, insulation, and component derating.
Develop, test, and document prototypes, engineering models, and flight hardware; create schematics, PCB layouts, and technical documentation for fabrication and manufacturing.
Build and test hardware through rapid prototyping, including breadboarding, PCB assembly, bench testing, and debugging.
Establish board bring-up processes and design standards as the electrical team grows.
Lead design-for-manufacturing reviews and work with manufacturing teams to transition designs into production.
Guide electrical hardware through Assembly, Integration, & Test (AI&T) and environmental qualification.
Maintain design documentation and identify hardware for reuse or requalification as the program evolves.