Spacecraft Electronics Engineer

EraDrive•Palo Alto, CA

About The Position

EraDrive builds autonomy software and hardware that enable spacecraft to see, decide, and act with minimal human control. Its spacecraft self-driving software has been demonstrated in orbit on NASA's Starling mission, and the company is expanding its hardware product family to cover alternative positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), rendezvous, in-orbit inspection, and space domain awareness. The Spacecraft Electronics Engineer will own the electrical design of Era-Node, EraDrive's spacecraft autonomy payload, from architecture and detailed design through implementation, qualification, integration, and delivery. The role covers payload power, custom boards, communication and timing interfaces, cabling and connectors, and ground electrical test infrastructure. It is hands-on, involving circuit design, board bring-up, hardware troubleshooting, and collaboration with internal engineering teams, suppliers, and the host spacecraft team to deliver reliable flight units.

Requirements

A degree in electrical engineering, electronics engineering, or a closely related field.
Demonstrated experience developing spacecraft or space payload electronics, including hands-on hardware integration, testing, and participation in environmental qualification or flight acceptance.
Strong practical skills in power electronics, analog and digital circuit design, electrical interfaces, and harness design.
Proficiency with EDA tools, board bring-up, and laboratory debugging using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power supplies, and electronic loads.
Working knowledge of space hardware design practices, including derating, radiation effects, grounding and shielding, electromagnetic compatibility, and materials selection.
Experience developing electrical test equipment and procedures, and diagnosing problems across hardware, firmware, and software boundaries.
Clear technical documentation and communication, disciplined configuration control, and the ability to own engineering problems through resolution in a small team.

Nice To Haves

Experience with SpaceWire, RS-422, Ethernet, CAN, or other embedded interfaces.
Experience with precision timing, PPS signals, camera interfaces, FPGA-based logic, or embedded C/C++ development.
Experience developing circuits and custom interface PCBAs, from schematic through layout, fabrication, and assembly.
Experience with test automation, radiation assurance, or flight electronics manufacturing and inspection standards.
Experience with hosted payloads, GEO missions, government space programs, or on-orbit commissioning and anomaly resolution.

Responsibilities

Define Era-Node's electrical architecture, requirements, power budgets, and interface control documentation, coordinating connections among cameras, processors, clocks, the host spacecraft, and ground support equipment.
Design and integrate payload power conditioning and monitoring, including electrical protection and fault recovery.
Bring up custom PCBAs and commercial off-the-shelf electronics, diagnosing and reworking them as needed.
Implement and verify command, data, and timing interfaces, including clock distribution, sensor triggering, synchronization, and signal integrity, in collaboration with embedded software engineers.
Design flight and ground harnesses, specifying connectors, pinouts, shielding, and grounding in coordination with mechanical and manufacturing teams.
Select components and materials for the space environment, assessing expected lifetime and performance.
Build and maintain electrical ground support equipment for system prototyping, assembly, integration, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
Develop and execute PCBA and payload electrical tests.
Support acceptance testing and space environment qualification campaigns.
Work with suppliers on fabrication and maintain schematics, traceability, and test procedures across engineering and flight units.