Electrical Technician

Star Catcher; Jacksonville (FL); On-site; USD 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Star Catcher is seeking an Electrical Technician in Jacksonville, FL to assemble, repair and manage circuit boards and cable harnesses for spacecraft and orbiting power infrastructure.

You will work with high-rel PCB processes, harness fabrication, and avionics integration, following IPC standards and NASA/IPC certifications where applicable. Join a fast-paced startup focused on spaceflight hardware development.

Qualifications

• Hands-on experience in high-reliability PCB assembly and rework (SMT and through-hole).
• Experience fabricating and testing complex cable harnesses for aerospace hardware.
• Ability to read schematics, layouts, and test data to diagnose faults.
• Familiarity with IPC-A-620 and IPC-J-STD standards for flight hardware.
• Experience with lab management, ESD control, and workflow improvements.

Responsibilities

• Perform high-reliability PCB assembly and rework per IPC Class 3 standards.
• Repair boards by interpreting schematics and test data to diagnose faults.
• Fabricate, assemble, and test aerospace cable harnesses with IPC guidelines.
• Write wiring diagrams, harness travelers, and test procedures.
• Support avionics integration and hardware debugging with engineers.
• Maintain lab space, calibration tracking, and safe work practices.
• Improve lab processes and ensure configuration control for flight hardware.

Job description

Power the future of Space at Star Catcher

Star Catcher is powering the future of space by building the world’s first orbital energy grid: the Star Catcher Network. Spacecraft connect into the Star Catcher Network and receive conditioned energy via their existing solar arrays, requiring no retrofit to utilize the first true space-based infrastructure. The Star Catcher Network provides power as needed from tens of Watts to tens of thousands of Watts at concentrations from fractions of a Sun of flux to ten Suns of flux.

The Star Catcher Network enables More Uptime, More Bandwidth, and More Mission.

Join our team of experienced and passionate space innovators driven to transform and expand humanity’s utilization of space. The creation of space-based power infrastructure is as impactful for space missions in the 2020’s and 2030’s as the advent of low-cost launch services was in the 2010’s. We seek individuals who share our passion for enabling people to do more in space and are not afraid to get their hands dirty to make our vision of the future reality.

Star Catcher Industries, Inc., located in Jacksonville, Florida, has an opportunity for an Electrical Technician to support the development of space-to-space power beaming spacecraft and the Star Catcher Network, its orbital power grid. This role will be responsible for assembling, repairing and managing circuit boards and cable harness assemblies used on spacecraft, satellites, and other space-related technologies.

Responsibilities:

• Perform high-reliability PCB assembly and rework in accordance with IPC Class 3 standards, including fine-pitch SMT soldering, through-hole components, conformal coating, inspection, and microscope-level rework to support flight and engineering units.
• Repair circuit boards by interpreting schematics, layouts, and test data to diagnose faults, replace components, and validate corrective actions to minimize hardware downtime.
• Fabricate, assemble, and test cable harnesses including crimping, soldering, shielding, lacing, connector integration, and strain relief in compliance with aerospace workmanship standards such as IPC-A-620.
• Write and maintain harness documentation such as wiring diagrams, pinout tables, build travelers, test procedures and inspection checklists
• Execute electrical testing and validation including continuity, insulation resistance, hipot (as applicable), functional verification, and support for system-level integration testing.
• Support avionics integration activities by assisting with board bring-up, subsystem integration, hardware debugging, and coordination with electrical and embedded software engineers.
• Manage and maintain the electrical lab space including tool calibration tracking, ESD compliance, consumables inventory, equipment upkeep (oscilloscopes, power supplies, crimp tools, solder stations), and safe lab practices.
• Continuously improve lab processes and workflows by developing standardized work instructions, optimizing bench layouts, improving build efficiency, reducing rework rates, and implementing quality control best practices.
• Ensure configuration control and traceability for hardware builds, serialized components, harnesses, and reworked assemblies to support flight-readiness and audit requirements.
• Contribute to a fast-paced startup environment by taking ownership of builds, identifying process gaps, proactively solving production issues, and supporting rapid iteration cycles for prototype and flight hardware.
• Demonstrated ability to solve complex, first-of-its-kind technical challenges, applying strong analytical thinking and sound engineering judgment when working at the edge of current spaceflight and avionics technology

Minimum Qualifications:

• At least 4 years of hands-on experience in high-reliability circuit board assembly and rework (SMT and through-hole) OR in high-reliability cable harness assembly and rework

Ideal Experience:

• Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering Technology, Electronics Engineering Technology, or a related field
• 10+ years of experience in high-reliability circuit board assembly and rework (SMT and through-hole)
• 10+ years of experience in fabricating and testing complex cable harnesses
• Experience supporting teams during flight integration and testing procedures prior to launch
• Current certification to NASA-STD-8739.3 (Soldered Electrical Connections) and/or NASA-STD-8739.4 (Crimping, Interconnecting Cables and Harnesses)
• Current certification to IPC-A-610 (Class 3 preferred) – Acceptability of Electronic Assemblies
• Current certification to IPC/WHMA-A-620 – Cable and Wire Harness Assemblies (Class 3 preferred)
• Current certification to J-STD-001 (Class 3 preferred) – Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies
• Strong working knowledge of workmanship, contamination control, and hardware handling requirements for spaceflight electronics

Desired Skills:

• Passion for spaceflight and enabling technology
• Forward-thinking mindset with the ability to anticipate technical issues and propose practical solutions before they impact schedules or hardware
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, iterative development environment, effectively managing multiple priorities while maintaining high workmanship standards
• Ability to read and interpret schematics, wiring diagrams, harness drawings, and engineering documentation
• Experience with configuration control, build documentation, and traceability practices for flight hardware
• Experience working in cleanroom and controlled lab environments
• ANSI/ESD S20.20 training with demonstrated understanding of ESD-safe handling practices
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Help us deploy and scale space infrastructure that will drive our utilization of space forward! We offer a highly competitive benefits package.

Star Catcher is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Star Catcher is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

All offers of employment at Star Catcher are contingent upon results of a thorough background check and your ability to provide proof of eligibility to work in the US.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.