Recent Graduate - Electrical Engineer

Katalyst Space Technologies•Broomfield, CO

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Katalyst is seeking a recent graduate to join their team as an Electrical Engineer. This role involves contributing directly to the design, analysis, development, integration, test, and operation of spacecraft electrical and avionics systems. The engineer will own well-scoped electrical engineering problems from requirements and concept development through schematic design, component selection, analysis, PCB or harness interface definition, integration, test, documentation, and closure. This position requires hands-on work with various electrical components and equipment, participation in design reviews and testing, and collaboration with cross-functional teams. The goal is to build engineering judgment by comparing theoretical calculations and simulations with actual hardware data, and to document all aspects of the work for review and reproduction. The role offers increasing ownership as technical capability grows, supporting spacecraft mission execution.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree completed, or expected before start date, in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, or a closely related technical field.
Strong academic or project-based grounding in circuits, electronics, digital and analog systems, embedded systems, power electronics, signals, sensors, or related electrical engineering fundamentals, with the ability to explain technical reasoning from first principles.
Demonstrated hands-on electrical engineering experience through internships, research, student spacecraft or robotics teams, capstone projects, personal projects, laboratories, board bring-up, electronics assembly, or prior employment.
Ability to break down ambiguous electrical problems, identify assumptions and interfaces, build appropriate models, make reasonable design tradeoffs, and validate work through calculation, simulation, bench test, hardware-in-the-loop, or data.
Clear written and verbal technical communication, including the ability to explain what was personally designed, analyzed, wired, assembled, integrated, tested, or debugged versus what was completed by a team.
Comfort learning new spacecraft electrical hardware, components, interfaces, embedded systems, test methods, analysis tools, and mission concepts quickly in an environment where responsibilities may evolve with program needs.
Ability to collaborate closely with mechanical, GNC, propulsion, software, systems, manufacturing, and mission-operations engineers and accept direct technical feedback without losing ownership of the problem.
Ability to comply with applicable export-control requirements and customer-access restrictions.

Nice To Haves

Internship, research, co-op, or project experience in spacecraft, aerospace, robotics, avionics, power electronics, embedded systems, defense technology, high-reliability hardware, or another electrically demanding environment.
Experience taking a circuit, board, electrical assembly, embedded hardware interface, or power subsystem from concept and design into build, bring-up, integration, or test and using the results to drive changes.
Exposure to circuit design, embedded systems, power electronics, PCB development, sensors, test equipment, hardware-in-the-loop environments, electrical integration, or electrical testing.

Responsibilities

Contribute directly to the design, analysis, development, integration, test, and operation of spacecraft electrical and avionics systems, including power, embedded electronics, sensors, interfaces, and flight hardware.
Own well-scoped electrical engineering problems from requirements and concept development through schematic design, component selection, analysis, PCB or harness interface definition, integration, test, documentation, and closure with support from senior engineers.
Work hands-on with schematics, boards, flight hardware, sensors, harnesses, bench equipment, oscilloscopes, power supplies, logic analyzers, simulation tools, and hardware-in-the-loop environments.
Participate in design reviews, board bring-up, hardware builds, integration activities, test campaigns, anomaly investigations, and mission-readiness activities; communicate electrical performance, risks, assumptions, and decisions clearly.
Collaborate across mechanical, GNC, propulsion, software, systems, manufacturing, and mission operations to understand electrical interfaces and system-level impacts on spacecraft performance.
Build engineering judgment by comparing circuit calculations, simulations, power budgets, signal expectations, and interface assumptions against bench, integration, and hardware data, identifying discrepancies, and iterating toward reliable flight hardware.
Document requirements, assumptions, interfaces, calculations, schematics, component selections, analyses, test results, procedures, and technical decisions so others can review, reproduce, build, and integrate the work.
Take increasing ownership as technical capability grows, progressing from supervised design and analysis tasks toward independent circuit-, board-, interface-, or subsystem-level responsibility.
Support spacecraft mission execution by helping translate mission objectives and constraints into credible electrical designs, analyses, hardware interfaces, integration plans, test approaches, and operational recommendations.