Electrical Engineer II

Ephemeris Net; El Segundo (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous equity package

Comprehensive health care coverage

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

Ephemeris Net is looking for a Hardware Engineer to design and develop advanced electronics for space networking. You will work on high-speed digital systems, optical transceiver modules, and integration with spacecraft technology.

The position is based in El Segundo, CA, surrounded by major aerospace players, ensuring a vibrant workplace for innovation and collaboration.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of electronics design experience either with mixed focus on high-speed digital or analog circuits.
• Experience with PCB design tools such as Altium or Cadence.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a US security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Design high-speed digital systems for space-based routing.
• Develop semi-custom optical transceiver modules.
• Support hardware-in-the-loop testing and integration.

Skills

High-speed digital design

Analog circuits

PCB design tools

Signal integrity principles

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium

Cadence

Job description

About Ephemeris Net

We are extending the internet to space. Ephemeris Net is a pre‑seed space networking company on a mission to provide space connectivity for all through collaborative engineering of commercial space networking solutions. We are creating the infrastructure that will enable the space internet beyond bent pipe—starting with foundational networking infrastructure that will define how data moves through space.

Role

Join our electrical engineering team to design and develop the electronics that make our vision of space networking a reality—from the high‑speed digital systems inside our Ephemeris Network Box to the opto‑electronics that run optical inter‑satellite link terminals. You'll contribute to three critical hardware domains: high‑speed digital networking electronics, optical terminal electronics, and semi‑custom optical transceivers. As part of the team, you will help establish how we approach electronics design for space networking systems and contribute to building Ephemeris Net's hardware engineering capabilities. Your designs will define the hardware foundation for all Ephemeris Net products. This role reports to the CTO and co‑founder, Nicolas Brown.

Key Responsibilities

The following are responsibilities across our electrical engineering team. You will own a subset of these based on your experience and interests, and contribute to others as needed.

High‑Speed Digital Design (Network Box)

• Design high‑speed digital systems with interfaces up to 9.6 Tbps for space‑based routing
• Implement optical interface protocols in space‑qualified hardware
• Ensure signal integrity and EMI/EMC compliance for high‑speed differential signaling
• Design power delivery systems for high‑performance networking processors and FPGAs
• Design storage subsystem electronics for a ~200 TB space‑based data cache, including high‑speed memory interfaces and storage controller integration

Optical Transceivers

• Design and develop semi‑custom optical transceiver modules for space networking applications
• Work with optics and photonics vendors to integrate custom requirements into transceiver form factors
• Characterize and qualify transceiver performance for space environments

Optical Terminal Electronics

• Design motor control systems for precision pointing and tracking of optical terminals
• Develop photodiode transimpedance amplifiers for closed‑loop terminal pointing control
• Design laser driver circuits for closed‑loop terminal pointing control
• Implement closed‑loop control systems for beam steering and acquisition
• Optimize analog front‑end performance for low noise and high bandwidth

Space Hardware Development

• Select commercial off‑the‑shelf (COTS) components appropriate for space environments
• Collaborate with the mechanical team on thermal management solutions for high‑power digital electronics in vacuum
• Support qualification test team in developing test procedures and qualification campaigns
• Work with fabrication partners to manufacture and assemble flight hardware
• Support hardware‑in‑the‑loop (HITL) testing and integration activities

System Integration

• Define electrical interfaces between network box, optical terminals, and spacecraft bus
• Design electrical harnessing and cable routing for dynamic motion environments
• Collaborate with firmware team to ensure hardware‑software integration
• Support mission engineer in spacecraft‑level integration and testing
• Debug and troubleshoot hardware issues during build, integration, and test phases

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent experience
• 3+ years of electronics design experience either with mixed focus on high‑speed digital or analog circuits or deep focus in one area
• Experience with PCB design tools (Altium, Cadence, or similar)
• Track record delivering hardware
• Understanding of signal integrity principles for high‑speed digital design
• Experience with laboratory test equipment (oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, network analyzers)
• Ability to obtain and maintain a US security clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing space‑qualified or radiation‑tolerant electronics
• Familiarity with Xilinx Versal FPGA line
• Verilog or VHDL experience for FPGA development
• Background in optical communication systems or laser electronics
• Experience with fiber optics and optical interconnects
• Experience with electrical harnessing and cable design for dynamic motion environments
• Experience with high‑speed serial interfaces (100G+ Ethernet, PCIe Gen4/5)
• Knowledge of motor control systems and closed‑loop feedback
• Understanding of photodiode circuits and transimpedance amplifier design
• Thermal analysis and simulation experience (ANSYS, Thermal Desktop)
• Familiarity with radiation effects on electronics (SEU, TID)
• Experience with space qualification standards (MIL‑STD‑883)

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary dependent on experience:
  • Engineer II: $150,000 – $190,000
  • Senior Engineer: $170,000 – $210,000
  • Staff Engineer: $180,000 – $230,000
• Generous equity package (early hire equity)
• Comprehensive health care coverage
• Unlimited PTO (we expect you to take at least 4 weeks per year, and leadership does the same)

Work Environment

• Hybrid work model: 3 days per week in our office/lab based on project needs
• During critical phases—integrations, test, or launch prep—expect to be in the office more frequently for coordination with the mission team
• Expected travel: about 10% (customer meetings, supplier visits, launch campaign, partner sites, integration sites, other Ephemeris offices)
• Small team environment with autonomy and space to define how we work and execute

Opportunity

• Join early‑stage hardware team: Contribute to shaping the hardware design philosophy, component selection strategy, and engineering culture at Ephemeris Net.
• Multiple challenging domains: Work on both cutting‑edge high‑speed digital systems and precision analog/opto‑electronics—an uncommon breadth.
• Real impact: Your electronics will fly in space and route real traffic. You’ll see your designs become infrastructure.
• Build the space internet: Create hardware that will be the foundation of how space networks at all layers of the OSI model.
• Influence the hardware roadmap: Work with the electrical engineering team to define what space networking hardware should be.

Locations

El Segundo, CA: Located in the heart of the aerospace industry, surrounded by SpaceX, Aerospace Corporation, Northrop Grumman, and hundreds of space startups.

Oakland, CA: Right off BART. Close collaboration opportunities with UC Berkeley and the broader Bay Area networking and space research communities.

Equal Opportunity

Ephemeris Net is an equal‑opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.