Radiation Effects Engineer

Apex Space•Los Angeles, CA

27d•Onsite

About The Position

As the lead Radiation Effects engineer, you will serve as a point of contact for all technical topics related to space environment qualification and design, and meet team members' needs, customer requirements, and company goals. In this unique role, you will serve as Apex's technical authority for spacecraft electronics radiation susceptibility with the responsibility of hardening reliable space systems. This position requires deep technical expertise in radiation effects testing and analysis. You will collaborate across design, manufacturing, systems, and mission assurance disciplines to ensure spacecraft meet reliability, availability, and life requirements. You are responsible for enforcing the Radiation Hardness Assurance for our various buses, products, and individual components. You will coordinate closely with all product designers to continually evolve, test, and maintain a radiation parts and materials library. You will also provide radiation analysis capabilities to ensure spacecraft shielding and electronics design is adequate for compliance with harsh environments ranging from LEO to GEO.

Requirements

B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Nuclear Engineering, or related field
5-10 years of experience in radiation effects and/or reliability engineering for aerospace systems
Expertise with radiation tools (e.g., AE9/AP9/SPM, CREME96, OMERE, SPENVIS) for environmental definition and requirements definition.
Familiarity with industry radiation standards (e.g. MIL-STD-750, MIL-STD-883, ECSS-Q-ST-60-15C, MIL-STD-3053 and NASA testing guidelines).
Extensive experience with budgeting, scheduling, and executing SEE, TID, and DDD test campaigns, including test evaluation hardware/kit development, and familiar with testing FPGAs and microprocessors.
Proficiency with data analysis and modeling software (Python, MATLAB, or equivalent).
Familiarity with circuit simulation tools (e.g., LTSpice) with experience in design and/or analysis of digital and analog circuits.
Strong lab experience with oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, source meters, power supplies, and automating data collection.
Effective communication skills, with the ability to clearly convey radiation risks and mitigation to diverse stakeholders

Nice To Haves

10+ years of experience in radiation engineering roles
M.S. or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Physics, Reliability Engineering, or related field.
Active U.S. Government security clearance
Hands-on experience with scripting, automation, and programming languages (Python, MATLAB, JMP, C/C++, SQL, etc.).
Previous startup or small-team experience with demonstrated ability to take initiative, establish processes, and thrive in ambiguity.
Familiarity with radiation transport and shielding analysis tools (FASTRAD).
Familiarity with space charging effects on materials and electronics.
Experience with anomaly resolution and documentation of anomaly reports and lessons learned databases
Experience with pulsed laser single event effects testing
Experience with prompt dose hardening processes, including flash X-ray testing, EMP protection measures, and Faraday cage design
Ability to obtain TS/SCI clearance

Responsibilities

Establish and own the radiation engineering processes and provide cross-discipline training to instill a culture of survivability-awareness across the company.
Supervise and operate radiation test equipment, including total dose sources and pulsed laser equipment.
Provide radiation-tolerant recommendations to product designers to increase the probability of mission success through part selection, circuit design, passive/active radiation mitigations, and mission design recommendations.
Support business development and mission integration efforts by contributing to proposals, requirements development, customer briefings, and design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR) with radiation assessments.
Develop cumulative (total dose, displacement damage) and single event effects models for any orbital regime using industry standard tools and best practices.
Own the budget, schedule, plan, and execution of radiation test campaigns at external facilities (protons, heavy ions, gamma, neutron) or through third-party partners.
Provide unit and mission level radiation analyses, including SEE rates, availability estimates, cumulative dose exposure,s and the associated artifacts for requirements verification.
Maintain and grow the parts and materials library databases with critical piece-part and material information accessible to all designers.

Benefits

Shared upside: Receive equity in Apex, letting you benefit from the work you create
Best-in-class healthcare: 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision for you and your dependents, plus $100k life insurance at no cost
Comprehensive PTO package to reset and recharge - starting at 15 days vacation, growing to 20+ days annually, plus 10 paid holidays
Competitive 401(k) plan with generous matching - 100% match on first 3%, 50% on next 2%
8 weeks paid parental leave plus childcare reimbursement up to $350/day for work-related travel
Daily catered lunch and unlimited snacks to keep you fueled throughout the day
Vibrant community: Monthly office BBQs, pickleball tournaments, run club, and social gatherings for you and your family
Your dream desk setup and all the tools you need to be your most productive self
World-class Playa Vista office with EV chargers, with the benefit of in-person collaboration with amazing coworkers and flexibility to integrate work and life
Real impact opportunity: Work alongside experts from aerospace, new space, and other cutting-edge industries to make a lasting difference