Electrical Engineer II

Job description

The Role: Helogen is seeking a Senior Electrical Engineer II in Los Angeles, CA to lead the design and development of the electrical power systems for Keystar, our orbital power plant project. You'll be joining a resourceful and scrappy team that includes a Systems Engineer, Senior Systems Architect, Software Lead, and Lead Vehicle Design Engineer. We ideate and prototype rapidly, wear multiple hats, absorb new skills, and apply our past experience in creative ways. We value individual ownership within an overall framework of accountability and trust. As a Senior Electrical Engineer II, you'll be the technical owner of the electronics that generate, condition, store, and distribute power across the Keystar spacecraft. You’ll guide electrical hardware development from the initial smallsat demonstrator through the high-voltage power management and distribution (PMAD) architecture required as the campaign scales. In this role, you’ll be hands-on with the hardware while setting the power-electronics architecture and design standards the rest of the electrical team inherits. Responsibilities: - Own the design of the electrical power subsystem (EPS/PCDU) for the Keystar spacecraft, including power generation, conditioning, distribution, and battery systems - Establish the high-voltage power management and distribution (PMAD) architecture as the program scales; set technical parameters, evaluate tradeoffs, manage margins and risks, and develop high-voltage PCDU/PMAD and EMI filtering solutions - Design high-voltage systems for reliable operation in vacuum, accounting for electrical breakdown, corona discharge, insulation, and component derating - Develop, test, and document prototypes, engineering models, and flight hardware; create schematics, PCB layouts, and technical documentation to support fabrication and manufacturing - Build and test hardware using rapid prototyping techniques, including breadboarding, PCB assembly, bench testing, and debugging - Establish board bring-up processes and design standards as the electrical team grows - Lead design-for-manufacturing reviews and work with manufacturing teams to transition designs into production - Guide electrical hardware through Assembly, Integration, & Test (AI&T), and environmental qualification - Maintain design documentation and identify hardware for reuse or requalification as the program evolves What We're Looking For: Requirements: - 6+ years of experience in electrical design and circuit analysis for spacecraft - Direct experience with spacecraft power systems, such as solar arrays, power control and distribution units (PCDUs), battery management systems, or high-voltage power distribution - Strong experience in schematic capture, PCB layout, and circuit design - In-depth understanding of power electronics, including DC-DC conversion, power distribution, battery management, and switching efficiency - Experience designing or qualifying high-voltage power electronics, including an understanding of corona discharge, electrical breakdown in vacuum, insulation, and component derating - Strong understanding of analog and digital electronics, component selection, and electrical compatibility - Fluency with Design for Manufacturing (DFM) principles and electronics fabrication and assembly - Hands-on experience with rapid prototyping and hardware testing, including breadboarding, PCB assembly, bench testing, and debugging - Proficiency with electronic design and analysis tools such as Altium, KiCad, SPICE, or equivalent - Familiarity with space-environment design considerations, including radiation, thermal-vacuum testing, and electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC) - Knowledgeable about relevant engineering standards for spacecraft power systems, high-voltage design, environmental testing, and EMI/EMC - Experience taking hardware through formal design reviews and qualification under configuration control - Flexible, resourceful, and decisive, with the ability to evaluate tradeoffs, manage risk, and make sound engineering decisions - Hands-on approach to hardware development, with experience building, testing, and iterating physical systems Nice to Have: - Knowledge of embedded systems, firmware, sensor interfaces, precision measurement, or instrumentation - Experience through AI&T and formal design reviews; experience mentoring junior engineers - Startup or early-stage engineering experience Compensation: The salary range for this position is $130,000-$150,000 annually. Qualified candidates must be based in Los Angeles, California or willing to relocate there. Benefits: - Build alongside a founding team of visionaries and investors from NASA, Blue Origin, SpaceX, and the ISS - Unlimited PTO - Health, dental, vision and life insurance - 401(k) program - Membership to OneMedical - Be part of creating something new that will change the world Export Control Requirements Due to the nature of the work performed, applicants must be a U.S. Person as defined by U.S.* export control regulations or otherwise eligible to access export-controlled information and technology. *U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident, or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) (i.e., individual admitted to the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum in the U.S.)