Electrical Engineering - Technical Fellow

TRIDENT SYSTEMS LLC• Fairfax, VA, US, VA

10h•$163,000 - $269,000•Onsite

About The Position

At Trident Systems Space Electronic Systems (SES) division, we believe in the power of using strong engineering principles to drive innovation and solve complex problems. We foster a culture of rigorous engineering and continuous improvement, leveraging the full knowledge of our organization through collaborative product development processes that include design and peer reviews. We combine our expertise in space electronics with right-sized development processes to create innovative, high-performance space-based electronic systems that meet our customers' evolving needs. We are a mission partner supporting DoD, Intelligence Community, and Civil space customers. We develop complex, radiation effects mitigated, designs that balance competing requirements in modern space programs, delivering cutting-edge solutions that enable our customers to achieve more in space. The Electrical Engineering - Technical Fellow serves as a division-level technical leader within Trident Systems’ Space Electronic Systems (SES) division, responsible for architecting, developing, and guiding high-performance space computer and embedded hardware solutions for space and defense applications. This role provides deep, recognized subject matter expertise across the full space hardware development lifecycle, including power systems, internal spacecraft charging, radiation effects, and high-speed signaling—from requirements definition through design, integration, test, delivery, and on-orbit support—while ensuring designs meet stringent performance, reliability, and radiation-mitigation requirements. The Senior Principal Electrical Engineer partners closely with cross-functional engineering teams, executive and program leadership, and customers to solve complex technical challenges, support program execution and business development efforts, and set the long-term technology roadmap and technical strategy for the organization. As the division’s senior-most individual-contributor technical authority, the Senior Principal Electrical Engineer holds final design review and sign-off authority on complex, high-risk, or first-of-kind embedded hardware and space computer efforts, and mentors Principal-level engineers across the discipline.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or related technical degree
Demonstrated experience serving as final technical design authority / sign-off for complex or first-of-kind space flight hardware programs
15+ years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree OR 13+ years with a Master’s degree OR 10+ years with a doctorate, including at least 8 years designing space or aerospace electronics
Experience with mixed-signal PCA development, utilizing High Density Interconnect (HDI) PCBs and high speed (> 10 GHz) and serial (SerDes) components/circuits operating at >10 Gbps
Experience with FPGA and microprocessor development, including hardware descriptor languages (i.e. Verilog, VHDL)
Experience with hardware integration, test, and debug tools such as logic analyzers, scopes, emulators
Demonstrated experience implementing PCIe, VME, or VPX standards (VITA 46, VITA 65, VITA 78)
Experience leading formal hardware design review milestones (e.g., PDR, CDR, TRR) for complex or first-of-kind programs
Demonstrated experience designing and delivering electronic hardware for space flight applications, including at least one design operating on orbit
Demonstrated experience designing space power systems, including power architecture, radiation-tolerant DC-DC conversion and regulation, sequencing, protection, and power integrity
Demonstrated experience mitigating internal spacecraft charging and discharge effects, including shielding, grounding, and bonding practices (e.g., NASA-HDBK-4002)
Demonstrated experience analyzing and mitigating space radiation effects (TID, SEE including SEU/SEL/SET, and displacement damage), including radiation hardness assurance and fault-tolerant architecture (e.g., EDAC, scrubbing, redundancy)
Demonstrated experience with high-speed serial signaling (SerDes links >10 Gbps; e.g., PCIe, SpaceFibre, high-speed Ethernet), including signal integrity, channel modeling, and jitter budgeting
Demonstrated experience architecting high-performance space computers or processing systems (processor/FPGA/SoC, memory, interconnect), balancing performance, SWaP, thermal, and reliability
Experience qualifying hardware designs for extreme environments (TVAC, shock, vibration) and EMI/EMC compliance
Demonstrated ability to technically lead and mentor senior engineers and to influence customers, executive leadership, and industry

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or doctorate in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field
Experience with radiation test campaigns (heavy ion, proton, TID) and with COTS/NewSpace parts up-screening for radiation-tolerant architectures
Experience with on-orbit anomaly investigation and resolution
Recognized external technical leadership, such as patents, publications, standards or industry working-group participation, or Fellow-level recognition

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership and mentorship for discipline engineers, including Principal-level staff
Subject matter expert for space electronics hardware engineering discipline, including power systems, internal spacecraft charging, radiation effects, and high-speed signaling; serves as final technical review and sign-off authority on complex, high-risk, or first-of-kind designs, ensuring designs meet Trident engineering standards prior to release
Architect and lead the space computer hardware development process: requirements specification, characterization, simulation, high-speed digital and SerDes design (>10 Gbps), signal and power integrity, power system design, radiation-effects mitigation, signal processing, schematic capture, PCB layout and routing, PCA testing, and system integration
Set the architecture for high-performance space computers, balancing processing performance, memory, interconnect, power, thermal, SWaP, reliability, and radiation tolerance
Serve as the cognizant engineer for the power system across the hardware stack — power architecture, radiation-tolerant conversion and regulation, sequencing, protection, power integrity, and spacecraft bus interfaces — guiding design decisions, reviewing analyses and test results, and approving the design at each gate.
Establish and enforce design practices for internal spacecraft charging mitigation, grounding, and EMI/EMC
Manage radiation effects analysis and mitigation (TID, SEE, displacement damage), including radiation hardness assurance, parts selection and test strategy, and fault-tolerant design (e.g., EDAC, scrubbing, redundancy)
Lead high-speed signaling design and analysis: SerDes links (>10 Gbps), channel modeling, signal integrity, jitter budgeting, and protocol implementation
Chair design and peer reviews of design work and documentation, including PDR, CDR, and TRR milestones
Provide technical direction to discipline team, other engineering teams, PMO, EGD and VP
Provide hands-on technical leadership to programs as needed based on severity of resource demand and challenge of design, including design recovery and anomaly investigation
Lead technical strategy and solution architecture for business development efforts, including proposals and capture
Represent Trident Systems Engineering with customer, vendor, and industry interface as a recognized subject matter expert
Define and drive the ES technology roadmap and IRAD investment priorities by identifying goals for department and plans for execution
Ability to support travel or off-site work, as needed.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

Health benefits
Medical
Dental
Vision
Basic life with AD&D
Short term disability
Long term disability
Ancillary (Voluntary life with AD&D, accident, critical illness, hospital, and pet)
Spending accounts (HSA, FSA, and DCFSA)
Paid time off
Holidays
401(k) (including company match)
Tuition reimbursement
Leaves (Parental, maternity, and military)
Annual discretionary bonus (for eligible roles)