Electrical Design Engineer (Falcon & Dragon Avionics)

As an Electrical Design Engineer on SpaceX's Falcon and Dragon Avionics Hardware Development team in Hawthorne, CA, you will advance next-generation spacecraft electronics from concept through flight. This full-time role offers hands-on ownership of the hardware systems that give humanity reliable access to space, combining rigorous circuit design, validation, and manufacturing excellence.

About the Role

You'll own critical avionics electronics across the entire development and production lifecycle. Working alongside hardware specialists, you'll tackle complex challenges: designing circuits that meet extreme performance and reliability standards, solving real-world hardware anomalies, and continuously improving manufacturing processes. Whether redesigning a power subsystem, validating a communication board, or troubleshooting an integration issue, you'll drive technical decisions that impact vehicle safety and mission success.

Responsibilities

• Develop new and refresh existing PCBA designs, optimizing for reliability, manufacturability, and capability enhancement
• Exercise full stewardship of avionics hardware from initial design through flight qualification and launch operations
• Update electrical schematics and mechanical specifications to enhance system performance and production feasibility
• Investigate off-nominal component and assembly behavior through systematic root cause analysis
• Resolve manufacturing and vehicle integration challenges with rigorous engineering investigation and documentation
• Design and execute validation testing protocols using benchtop, thermal, and environmental test environments

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering
• Minimum one year of electronics hardware design experience (including academic projects, internships, or professional roles)
• Minimum one year of hands-on experience using standard electrical measurement and test instruments to verify circuit performance
• Ability to design analog, digital, and mixed-signal circuit architectures
• Proficiency with schematic and PCB design tools such as KiCad, Altium, or Eagle
• Experience using circuit simulation software including LTspice, SIMetrix, or equivalent platforms
• Knowledge of design for excellence practices, derating methodology, and failure analysis techniques
• Understanding of digital communication standards including SPI, I2C, CAN, Ethernet, and RS422
• Familiarity with standard analog and digital circuit blocks—filters, power conditioning, microcontroller interfaces
• Demonstrated ability to thrive in high-velocity, autonomous environments with rigorous quality expectations
• Strong documentation, communication, and collaborative problem-solving skills
• U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, or other qualifying visa status in accordance with export control regulations

About SpaceX

SpaceX pursues an ambitious vision: enabling human civilization to flourish beyond Earth by building the rockets and spacecraft that make that possible. Our immediate mission focuses on Mars, and our work in avionics engineering directly supports vehicles carrying crew and cargo to orbit and beyond.

Apply Today

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