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Key details
Why this role is notable
SpaceX is standing up a dedicated PCB design team for Starshield, its government-facing satellite and ground-system line, signaling that the company is building out in-house hardware for national security work rather than relying solely on its consumer Starlink product lineage.
Job Description
SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.
LEAD PCB DESIGNER (STARSHIELD)
Starshield leverages SpaceX’s Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts. While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use, with an initial focus on earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads.
This is an opportunity to build and lead a new PCB design team for Starshield. In addition to hiring top-notch PCB designers, this role will require close collaboration with electrical and mechanical engineering teams as well as supply chain, manufacturing, and reliability teams to design boards that meet performance and reliability requirements. As the Starshield satellite and ground system designs evolve, you will be expected to learn new technologies, mentor other designers, and constantly look for opportunities to improve our designs and reduce layout time.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Lead and hire a team of high-performance printed circuit board (PCB) designers
- Establish priorities and projects with clear scope and objectives
- Develop growth plans for team members to develop their capabilities
- Review and guide new projects to maintain cost and performance objectives
- Drive the development of the electronic data management solutions
- Determine layer stackup; perform component package selection, component placement, routing feasibility studies, and signal routing of digital, analog, RF, and power conversion of PCBs
- Create and release documentation for fabrication of PCBs
- Collaborate with internal teams and PCB vendors to continually improve design rules, constraints, and design for test and manufacture guidelines
- Standardize and maintain release of documentation for fabrication of PCBs
- Utilize PCB design tools; maintain and evaluate new tools, and train team members to use tools
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree in an engineering discipline
- 2+ years of PCB design experience
- 1+ years of experience leading teams and/or projects
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Experience designing boards for high volume production and executing on tight deadlines
- Deep understanding of DFM/DFA/DFT (design for manufacturing, design for assembly, design for test) rules and PCB fabrication process. Mastery of tools such as Valor Enterprise
- 2+ years of experience with PCB layout and routing in one or all of the following areas: modern passive and active electronics components, surface-mount, RF components, ball-grid array and similar fine pitch, or high pin density components
- Experience with ECAD libraries and library configuration management
- Experience with Mentor Xpedition and/or Altium Designer
- Experience with layout of mixed analog and digital designs, high speed buses, FPGA, DRAM and CPU designs, power supplies, DC-DC converters, transmission lines, impedance-controlled traces, and power traces
- Experience with MIL-STD, commercial and IPC standards and design
- Experience with scripting and automation
- Professional experience leading a team, while providing technical direction and strong mentoring skills
- Excellent communication skills for articulating complex concepts, problems, and solutions across all levels within the organization
- Active TS/SCI clearance or the ability to obtain and maintain one
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Able to work extended hours and weekends as needed to support critical path development and/or critical on-orbit operations
- An active clearance may provide the opportunity for you to work on sensitive SpaceX missions; if so, you will be subject to pre-employment drug and random drug and alcohol testing
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:
Pay Range:
$140,000.00 - $230,000.00
Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.
Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short and long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation and will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Employees accrue paid sick leave pursuant to Company policy which satisfies or exceeds the accrual, carryover, and use requirements of the law.
Those with an active clearance will receive a 10% differential, up to an additional $20,000 annually, once officially briefed into a classified program.
ITAR REQUIREMENTS:
- To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.
SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.
Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to EEOCompliance@spacex.com.
