Avionics & Electrical Power Engineer (Staff/Principal)

Sophia Space; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Sophia Space is seeking an experienced Electrical Systems Engineer in Pasadena, CA to lead TILE EPS design and power architecture for the TILE orbital data center node. You will own requirements, analyses, and hardware acceptance, coordinating with external vendors and internal teams to ensure flight readiness.

The role emphasizes hands-on bench work, integration with Blade compute, EMI testing, and launch-readiness qualification, with U.S. Person status required due to ITAR/EAR regulations.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering or closely related field required.
• 5+ years spacecraft hardware experience (Level IV) or 8+ years (Level V).
• Experience delivering flight hardware end-to-end: design, build, test, qualification, delivery.
• Experience managing external vendors, design reviews, data packages.
• Hands-on spacecraft payload integration & test experience.
• Working knowledge of spacecraft power systems (batteries, MPPT, distribution).
• ITAR/EAR compliance and U.S. Person status required.

Responsibilities

• Own TILE EPS design: architecture, requirements, analyses, and hardware acceptance.
• Own TILE power architecture: budgets, margins, and interfaces.
• Lead external partners: design reviews, data audits, and flight-unit acceptance.
• Own electrical systems: harness design, drawings, and grounding topology.
• Define TILE grounding/bonding architecture and verify through integration.
• Design launch-inhibit, arm/safe, and umbilical electrical schemes.
• Oversee battery safety data package and compliance through launch.
• Plan EPS&power-chain I&T: bench testing, environmental campaigns, EMC tests.
• Develop electrical GSE and support avionics integration.

Skills

Spacecraft power systems

Battery safety

Harness design

Flight hardware integration

Vendor management

Grounding and EMI

Requirements and ICD development

Test and environmental qualification

ITAR/EAR compliance

Education

B.S. in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Electronic loads

Power analyzers

DMMs

Altium

Job description

Sophia Space is a venture-backed deep technology company building high-performance, energy-efficient computing systems designed to operate in orbit. Our work sits at the intersection of aerospace systems, advanced computing, artificial intelligence, and applied physics, enabling a new generation of distributed edge computing capabilities in space.

Having successfully completed our Seed financing, Sophia is focused on scaling its team, products, and capabilities as we prepare for the next stage of growth. We are building a world‑class engineering organization that combines expertise from aerospace, cloud computing, robotics, and AI to solve some of the most challenging problems in space infrastructure. As both a product company and an engineering‑driven organization, we actively leverage modern AI tools throughout our development process to accelerate learning, improve productivity, and help deliver innovative, environmentally responsible computing platforms for the future.

Job Description

Sophia Space is building TILE — a modular orbital data center node that flies on the Athena demonstration mission in late 2027. The TILE's Electrical Power System — solar array conditioning, battery, and 12 V distribution — is the heart of the product, and its electrical backbone (harness, grounding, inhibits, umbilical, bus interface) ties everything together. We are looking for an experienced engineer to serve as the TILE EPS Cognizant Engineer and to lead TILE electrical systems engineering. You will report to the TILE Integrated Avionics Product Delivery Manager.

You own the EPS design — architecture, requirements, power budgets, protection philosophy, analyses, and verification — end to end. Where elements are built with external partners, they build to your requirements and you hold design authority: driving design reviews, auditing analyses and test data, negotiating technical changes, and accepting hardware against criteria you define. As the electrical systems engineer, you will own the harness from functions list to fabricated flight cables, define the grounding/bonding architecture, design the launch‑inhibit and umbilical schemes, and carry the battery safety and range safety compliance package through to launch approval. You will spend real time at the bench: integrating EPS hardware with our Blade compute on the avionics testbed, running power‑quality and fault testing, and supporting environmental campaigns.

Success in this role is measured by delivering and integrating the EPS on schedule: a defensible design at each review, harness and grounding that pass EMC and integration testing, an approved battery safety data package, and a fully tested TILE power chain at delivery to vehicle I&T. Sophia Space is a small team — engineers wear multiple hats, and broader avionics work (interface electronics, test engineering, board bring‑up) is an expected part of the role.

Location & Eligibility

This position is primarily in‑person in Pasadena, California, with occasional hybrid flexibility based on business needs.

U.S. Person status is required due to ITAR/EAR export‑control regulations. U.S. Persons generally include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and certain protected individuals as defined by applicable regulations.

Primary Responsibilities

• Own the TILE EPS design as design lead, Cognizant Engineer, and subsystem Systems Engineer (solar array regulation/MPPT, battery, 12 V regulated distribution): architecture, requirements, ICDs, analyses, verification planning, and hardware acceptance
• Own the TILE power architecture at system level: power budgets and margins across mission modes, EPSbus‑interfacecompute functional allocation (current limiting, inrush/pre‑charge coordination, protection thresholds), and power‑quality requirements
• Direct external partners building power hardware to your requirements: design‑review leadership, analysis and test‑data audit, change negotiation, schedule‑risk surfacing, and first‑article/flight‑unit acceptance against your criteria
• Own TILE electrical systems engineering: harness design from signal/functions list through drawings, fabrication oversight, and acceptance (hipot/continuity); connector selection and keying; shield and return topology
• Define and document the TILE grounding and bonding architecture (single‑point‑ground compliance with the host bus, isolation preservation, chassis bonding) and verify it through integration
• Design the launch‑inhibit, arm/safe, and umbilical/GSE electrical architecture, coordinating inhibit schemes with the host bus provider and launch‑services requirements
• Own the battery safety and range safety compliance effort: battery safety data package, thermal‑runaway containment approach, UN 38.3/DOT transport, and AFSPCMAN 91‑710 / RCC 319 / FAA Part 450 compliance through launch integration
• Plan and execute EPS and power‑chain I&T: EPS emulator and engineering‑model bench testing, integration with Blade compute hardware on the avionics testbed, powered environmental testing (TVAC, vibration), and EMC test support
• Develop and maintain electrical GSE: bench power infrastructure, load banks, breakout/umbilical test sets, and safe‑to‑mate procedures
• Contribute across the avionics team as needed: bus‑interface‑board design support, board bring‑up and test, telemetry review, anomaly investigation, and design reviews

Required Skills

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering or closely related field, with 5+ years (Level IV) / 8+ years (Level V) of spacecraft or spacecraft‑payload hardware experience
• Personally delivered flight hardware (board, box, or subsystem) through the full cycle: design → build → test → environmental qualification → delivery
• Experience managing external vendors delivering flight hardware: statement‑of‑work/ICD ownership, design‑review participation, data‑package review, and acceptance
• Hands‑on spacecraft or payload integration & test experience: functional testing, powered environmental campaigns, anomaly troubleshooting at the bench
• Working knowledge of spacecraft power systems: Li‑ion batteries and BMS, solar array power conditioning (MPPT/DET), power distribution and protection (inrush, overcurrent, load switching)
• Battery safety experience: thermal‑runaway hazard analysis and mitigation, battery safety data packages, and familiarity with range safety requirements (AFSPCMAN 91‑710, RCC 319, and/or FAA Part 450) and UN 38.3 transport
• Harness and electrical‑interconnect design experience: signal lists to drawings, connector/backshell selection, shielding and grounding practices
• Requirements and ICD development for electrical interfaces; comfortable owning a subsystem's technical baseline in a requirements‑managed program
• Proficiency with standard lab equipment (oscilloscopes, electronic loads, power analyzers, DMMs) and disciplined test documentation
• U.S. Person status (ITAR/EAR)

Desired Skills

• EMC/EMI design and test experience (MIL‑STD‑461 tailoring, grounding for EMC, pre‑compliance scanning)
• Rideshare mission experience (SpaceX Transporter‑class): payload electrical safety submittals, inhibit design, and launch‑site integration
• New‑space risk posture: comfortable qualifying COTS‑based designs with targeted testing rather than full MIL‑spec flows
• Power electronics design depth (DC/DC converter design or detailed worst‑case analysis) sufficient to independently audit vendor designs
• Embedded/board‑level avionics breadth: microcontroller‑supervised power sequencing, board bring‑up, firmware‑adjacent debugging, PCB design tools (Altium or similar)
• Test automation skills (Python‑based bench scripting, SCPI instrument control) and radiation‑effects awareness (TID/SEE impacts on power electronics)

The Pay Range For This Role Is

150,000 - 230,000 USD per year (Pasadena, CA)