Electrical Engineer, Space Optics (Hybrid)

Observable Space; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

Equity opportunities

Hybrid LA office

Unlimited PTO

Health insurance

Latest tools

Mission-driven culture

Inclusive team

Job summary

Observable Space is seeking an Electrical Engineer in Los Angeles to design and develop electronic circuits, PCBs, and wire harnesses for telescope and observatory hardware. You will run circuit simulations, capture schematics, and review layouts to ensure functionality, reliability, and manufacturability.

The role emphasizes signal integrity, EMI/EMC, power distribution, PCB rework, testing procedures, and cross-team integration with mechanical and software groups.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in a relevant electrical engineering role.
• Strong understanding of DC power circuits, motor drivers, common interfaces/protocols (I2C, SPI, CAN, Ethernet, MIPI, PCIe), ADCs, microcontrollers, opamps, and transistor circuits.
• Excellent circuit debugging skills, knowledge of power supplies, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, multimeters.
• Comfortable with PCB rework including soldering, staking, cutting traces, preparing wires.
• Experience with circuit simulation and design tools.
• Understanding of circuit board construction, transmission line structures, signal integrity, EMI/EMC, via types, and component types.
• Experience with Altium (or similar PCB software) and LTSpice (or similar software).
• Understanding of wire harnessing fundamentals such as electrical checkout, hi-pot testing, impedance characterization, and shielding.
• Acute product sense, placing an emphasis on design for manufacturing and field reliability.
• Ability to thrive in a fast paced dynamic environment where rapid prototyping is the norm.
• An iterative mindset - perfect is the enemy of good.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop electronic circuits, PCBs, and wire harnesses for telescope and observatory hardware.
• Perform circuit simulations, schematic capture, and layout reviews to ensure functionality, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Apply best practices for signal integrity, EMI/EMC compliance, and power distribution.
• Build and test prototypes, including PCB bring-up, rework, and modification (soldering, trace cutting, wiring).
• Develop and execute test procedures for electrical subsystems, ensuring design meets performance and safety requirements.
• Perform root cause analysis and debugging using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters, and spectrum analyzers.
• Collaborate with mechanical, software, and manufacturing teams to integrate electrical designs into complete systems.
• Define and document electrical interfaces, block diagrams, product requirements, assembly drawings, and other supporting documents to support cross-team integration.
• Support design for manufacturing (DFM) and design for reliability (DFR) reviews to ensure smooth transition from prototype to production.

Skills

PCB design

Circuit debugging

Altium

LTSpice

DFM/DFR

Signal integrity

EMI/EMC

Wire harnessing

DC power circuits

Microcontrollers

Soldering

Tools

Altium

LTSpice

Hyperlynx

SIwave

ADS

Job description

Observable Space is seeking an Electrical Engineer in Los Angeles to design and develop electronic circuits, PCBs, and wire harnesses for telescope and observatory hardware. You will run circuit simulations, capture schematics, and review layouts to ensure functionality, reliability, and manufacturability.

The role emphasizes signal integrity, EMI/EMC, power distribution, PCB rework, testing procedures, and cross-team integration with mechanical and software groups.