Electrical Engineering Manager - Digital Hardware Design

Astranis; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Company-subsidized healthcare

401(k) retirement plan

Flexible PTO

On-site catered meals

Job summary

Astranis is seeking an Electrical Engineering Manager to lead the Digital Hardware Design team responsible for delivering our Software Defined Radios for space platforms. You will guide cradle-to-grave hardware development, from architecture to board bring-up, and mentor engineers in a fast-paced environment.

You will oversee high-speed mixed-signal design, PCB workflows, and payload integration, ensuring performance and reliability for space-grade systems.

Qualifications

• B.S. or higher in electrical or computer engineering or related technical degree.
• 8+ years in mixed-signal and high-speed digital hardware design (FPGAs, data converters, SerDes, high-speed links).
• 8+ years PCB-level hardware design from concept to production (schematics, layout, bring-up, characterization).
• Proven leadership through project management, mentorship, and people management.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of electrical engineers to design SDRs for space.
• Oversee design workflows for complex PCBAs with compute, high-speed I/O, data converters, and power distribution.
• Architect ultra high-speed mixed-signal systems for efficient spacecraft payloads.
• Drive continuous technical innovation and maintain industry expertise.

Skills

FPGA design

High-speed digital design

Mixed-signal design

PCB design

Leadership

Education

B.S. or higher in electrical or computer engineering

Tools

Altium

Ansys SIwave

Keysight ADS

Job description

Electrical Engineering Manager - Digital Hardware Design

Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe – large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military.

With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts. Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization.

Astranis has raised over $1.2 billion from some of the world’s best investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Blackrock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Snowpoint, and employs a team of 500 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.

Electrical Engineering Manager - Digital Hardware Design

As an Engineering Manager, you will be responsible for the delivery of our custom Software Defined Radios. As a team leader you will oversee cradle to grave hardware development: architecture definition, board design, testing, and qualification.

Ideal Candidate

• An individual who has built and overseen the entire design cycle of FPGA based software defined radios for GEO space telecommunications satellites
• Proven record of delivering custom designed hardware that spans the entire range of signal chain design, integration of FPGAs with high speed data converters, custom power and clocking solutions, and supporting RTL development
• Experience with design and analysis of payloads for satellite communications, including radiation effects within FPGA based systems or highly complex digital devices
• History of leading small teams and mentoring employees, strong communication skills, and ability to make high impact decisions under uncertainty.

Role

• Lead and develop a team of electrical engineers to design industry shattering software defined radios capable of running complex signal processing algorithms in space!
• Oversee and manage design workflows for highly complex PCBAs with integrated compute, high speed I/O, data converters, and power distribution.
• Architect ultra high-speed mixed signal systems to achieve the most efficient and flexible communications payloads, integrating them with the rest of the spacecraft
• Ensure competitiveness through continuous technical innovation and industry expertise

Requirements

• B.S. or higher in electrical or computer engineering, or similar technical degree
• 8+ years of professional experience in mixed-signal and high-speed digital hardware design. Examples include FPGAs, high speed data converters, SerDes and high speed serial links, networking, JESD204C
• 8+ years of PCB-level experience designing hardware from concept through production (schematic capture, layout, bring-up, characterization, etc)
• Proven leadership through project management, mentorship, and people management experience
• A passion for hardware development, including working in a fast-paced environment and hands-on design

Bonus

• Strong background in mixed signal system performance measurement, design validation, and debugging (EVM testing, spur analysis, multi-carrier measurements, etc)
• Experience simulating high speed digital protocols using Ansys SIwave, Keysight ADS, or similar tools
• Experience with Altium or similar EDA tools for high-density PCB design
• Strong background in digital communications theory and measurement of radio nonidealities (HD, IMD, IQ imbalance, gain ripple, group delay distortion, etc)

What we offer

All our positions offer a compensation package that includes equity and robust benefits.

Base pay is just one component of Astranis's total rewards package. Your compensation also includes a significant equity package via incentive stock options, high-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.

Astranis pay ranges are informed and defined through professional-grade salary surveys and compensation data sources. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, and the level and scope of the position.

• high-quality company-subsidized healthcare
• disability and life insurance
• 401(k) retirement planning
• flexible PTO
• free on-site catered meals

$180,000 - $250,000 USD

U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required

(To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))

Our mission and products are built for everyone, regardless of gender, race, creed, or background. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we invite all people to join our team and bring their unique perspectives to make us stronger.

As set forth in Astranis's Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.