Power Systems Engineer

Karman+•Broomfield, CO

10h•$150,000 - $200,000

About The Position

Karman+ is developing spacecraft and systems to retrieve resources from asteroids and build a logistics chain in space. Its first mission is planned to launch in 2028 to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis. The spacecraft is designed, built, and tested by the team in Broomfield, Colorado, and the company develops much of its own hardware and tests it in its own facilities. The Power Systems Engineer will own the spacecraft’s electrical backbone, including an approximately 8 kW solar array, a high-voltage bus for electric propulsion, a low-voltage bus for other spacecraft systems, and the power conditioning, battery management, and distribution hardware connecting them. The role is responsible for making the power system work as an integrated system, from solar-array peak-power tracking through the high-voltage bus and propulsion power processing unit (PPU), to high-to-low-voltage conversion and 28 V loads. The engineer will own the power architecture and budget, define and defend bus specifications, lead PCDU and power-electronics development with the avionics team, and build and test a power flatsat. The work includes carrying the subsystem through integration, EMC testing, and environmental qualification in the company’s facilities.

Requirements

US work authorization is required.
Have delivered a spacecraft power subsystem, or a major part of one, through test, including hands-on power-electronics design.
Strong fundamentals in DC power conversion, control-loop and bus-stability analysis, battery systems, and solar-array electrical behavior across temperature and radiation.
Experience with high-voltage spacecraft buses or high-power electric-propulsion interfaces; GEO electric orbit-raising experience is directly relevant.
Working knowledge of radiation effects and derating practices for power components.
Demonstrated ownership across requirements, design, suppliers, testing, and documentation.
Comfort working on a small team and making decisions.

Nice To Haves

MPPT/direct-drive array architecture experience.
PCDU/EPS board design for flight.
EMC test experience.
Familiarity with F Prime or similar flight-software frameworks for telemetry and fault protection.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end power architecture and budget, including the array, peak-power tracking, high-voltage bus, battery and charge/discharge regulation, high-to-low-voltage conversion, and distribution; keep budgets closed as the spacecraft evolves.
Design the solar-array-to-bus interface, including MPPT strategy, string configuration, and behavior of an unregulated high-voltage bus feeding a 5 kW electric-propulsion load as the array degrades and the vehicle operates power-limited.
Set and defend bus specifications against loads, including PPU input range, thruster-ignition inrush and ripple, bus stability at the PCDU–PPU interface, and cold-eclipse-exit overvoltage conditions.
Lead PCDU and power-electronics development with the avionics team, including board-level design, power switching and protection, telemetry, and autonomous fault-protection and recovery behavior.
Build a power flatsat with an array simulator and propulsion-load simulator.
Carry the power subsystem through integration, EMC testing, and environmental qualification in the company’s facilities.
Own the subsystem across requirements, design, suppliers, testing, and documentation.