Senior Staff Electrical Engineer

About Capella

Capella, an IonQ company, spans national security, advanced sensing, and next-generation compute to deliver secure, mission-ready intelligence. Capella’s culture is built on collaboration, rigorous engineering, and a shared commitment to delivering solutions that strengthen global stability and security. Team members work side-by-side with some of the most innovative minds in space systems, quantum-enabled technologies, and mission-critical operations.

Capella values curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to tackle hard problems with precision and creativity. Capella welcomes and encourages applicants whose perspectives are historically underrepresented in technology, national security, and aerospace. No prior space experience is required. Diverse viewpoints strengthen Capella’s ability to innovate and deliver meaningful impact for partners worldwide.

 

Location: This role can be based at our Louisville, CO or San Francisco office with the option to work a few days a week remotely.
Travel: Up to 10%, domestic or international.
Job ID: 1742

The Role:

As a Senior Staff Electrical Hardware Design Engineer, you will take ownership of full-cycle PCBA designs, from early concept to flight readiness and in-orbit debug. 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 areas and drive projects across disciplines to help facilitate ideas, product readiness, and conduct reviews.

Responsibilities:

• Own the full electrical design lifecycle for complex spaceflight hardware: Concept of operations, requirements engineering, schematic capture, layout, bring-up, test, manufacturing handoff, and in-orbit debug
• 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 as well as mission and system requirements
• Lead hardware requirements and process improvements (Altium, DFM, DFT)
• 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 
• Lead collaboration across teams- mechanical, harness, RF, software, FPGA/SoC, and systems to ensure seamless integration 
• Mentor early- and mid-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 get things done, align with stakeholders, and document concisely 
• 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 

Requirements: 

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or related field 
• 10+ years of experience designing and debugging PCBAs 
• Proficiency in Altium Designer (or similar ECAD tools) 
• Hands-on experience with lab instruments (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, power analyzers, etc.) 
• Solid understanding of digital buses (I2C, SPI, UART, RS422, CAN, USB, PCIe, Ethernet etc.)  
• Familiarity with board bring-up, test planning, and design verification workflows 
• Experience interacting with contract manufacturers, supporting DFM reviews, and resolving production issues 
• Strong documentation habits and organizational skills 
• 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. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Master’s degree in electrical engineering or related field 
• Experience designing for harsh environments (thermal, vacuum, vibration, radiation) 
• Familiarity with high-speed design or impedance-controlled layouts 
• Basic scripting or automation in Python or C for hardware test workflows 
• Exposure to radiation effects and mitigation in electronic design 
• Familiarity with EMI/EMC design practices and validation 
• 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)

Compensation 

The approximate base salary range for this position is $167,808- $219,704. The final job level and annual salary will be determined based on the education, qualification, knowledge, skills, ability, and experience of the final candidate(s), specific office location and calibrated against relevant market data and internal team equity.  Benefits listed in this posting may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Capella Space.