Principal Electrical Engineer

Northwood Space • Los Angeles, CA

6d • $204,000 - $255,000

About The Position

Northwood is a modern space infrastructure company developing a global network of phased array ground stations for real-time, reliable satellite communications. The Principal Electrical Engineer will help drive development of digital compute and power electronics that support the antennas’ high-rate processing needs. The hardware team focuses on reliable, scalable, and cost-effective end products. The role involves designing and bringing up digital systems, evaluating prototypes in laboratory and field settings, and working with production teams to deliver testable, manufacturable products for in-house integration.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of professional experience in electrical design.
• Experience with end-to-end board design, from architecture and component selection through schematic capture, PCB layout, bring-up, debug, and production.
• Experience with mixed-signal electronics design and complex multilayer PCBs, including stack-up definition and material selection.
• Experience troubleshooting conducted or radiated EMI/EMC.

Nice To Haves

• High-speed digital design experience with interfaces such as multi-gigabit SerDes, DDR, JESD204B/C, and 10/100G Ethernet, including signal and power integrity analysis.
• Experience with FPGA- or processor-based systems and high-speed data converters.
• Deep understanding of signal integrity, power integrity, EMI/EMC mitigation, PCB stack-up definition, and high-performance board layout practices.
• Hands-on experience debugging complex hardware systems using advanced lab instrumentation and driving root-cause analysis across board and system levels.
• Ability to lead cross-functional technical efforts, mentor junior engineers, and make sound engineering tradeoffs in fast-paced development environments.

Responsibilities

• Drive electrical design for high-speed digital communication systems, implementing RF and mixed-signal designs in complex, multilayer PCBs.
• Work with 100G high-speed networking and complex digital power trees, and drive system tradeoffs for architecture decisions.
• Perform schematic capture, layout, and bring-up for digital systems, including FPGAs, microcontrollers, and associated peripherals.
• Collaborate with hardware and software teams, including RF, antenna, FPGA, and firmware engineers, to optimize system performance and overall design.
• Test prototypes and assess performance in the lab and in the field.
• Work with production teams to make products testable and manufacturable for in-house integration.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal