Staff Electrical Hardware Design Engineer

• As a Staff Electrical Hardware Design Engineer, you will take ownership of full-cycle PCBA designs, from early concept to flight readiness
• You will work cross-functionally with RF, mechanical, software, FPGA/SoC, and operations teams to bring high-reliability, space-ready electronics to orbit
• You will guide the Electrical Engineering team on special topics and present across disciplines to help facilitate ideas, product readiness, and conduct reviews
• Own the full electrical design lifecycle for complex spaceflight hardware: Concept of operations, requirements engineering, schematic capture, layout, bring-up, test, and manufacturing handoff
• Develop robust analog/digital designs for mission-critical systems under environmental and performance constraints
• Organize collaborative cross disciplinary design reviews sharing feedback and shaping solutions with a team of experienced engineers
• Provide critical input to schedule planning, hardware requirements, and process improvements
• Lead board-level bring-up and debugging, integrating firmware/software/FPGA with embedded systems
• Define test plans and verification strategies that meet flight readiness requirements
• Play a key role in scaling up our manufacturing facility bringing hardware from prototype to low-volume production
• Collaborate across teams- mechanical, RF, software, FPGA/SoC, and systems to ensure seamless integration
• Mentor early-career engineers contributing to internal process improvements and elevating the overall quality of the team
• Engage with external vendors and CMs, ensuring delivery quality, resolving DFM/DFT issues, and ensuring on-time delivery
• Drive failure analysis and root-cause investigations across flight or test anomalies
• What Success Looks Like
• You consistently deliver flight-quality hardware on schedule with minimal oversight
• You proactively identify and articulate system-level risks and drive mitigations early
• You communicate across hardware/software and cross-functional gaps with confidence and clarity
• You make thoughtful trade-offs in constrained environments and justify them with data
• You show curiosity about advanced areas like architecture optimization or radiation mitigation, even if they’re outside your scope for now
• You exhibit advanced, wide-ranging experience in electrical engineering, using in-depth professional knowledge
• You get things done, align with stakeholders, and document concisely

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Parental leave program
• Flexible Paid Time Off policy
• Mental health resources
• Commuter and parking benefits
• Monthly phone stipend
• 401K Plan
• Dog-friendly work environment & pet insurance options- Familiarity with satellite electrical systems engineering (propulsion, (EPS) Electrical Power System, (GNSS) Global Navigation Satellite System, (ADCS) Attitude Determination and Control System, space robotics, etc)
• Solid understanding of digital buses (I2C, SPI, UART, RS422, CAN, USB, PCIe, Ethernet etc.)
• Strong documentation habits and organizational skills
• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or related field
• Familiarity with EMI/EMC design practices and validation
• Master’s degree in electrical engineering or related field
• 8+ years of experience designing and debugging PCBAs
• Exposure to radiation effects and mitigation in electronic design
• To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Capella Employees must be a U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable. Learn more about ITAR here
• Familiarity with high-speed design or impedance-controlled layouts
• Basic scripting or automation in Python or C for hardware test workflows
• Proficiency in Altium Designer (or similar ECAD tools)
• Experience interacting with contract manufacturers, supporting DFM reviews, and resolving production issues
• Experience designing for harsh environments (thermal, vacuum, vibration, etc.)
• Familiarity with board bring-up, test planning, and design verification workflows
• Hands-on experience with lab instruments (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power analyzers, etc.)