Founding Space Hardware Engineer Laser Payload Electronics

Approach Venture LLC; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

No-cost medical, dental, and vision

Equity for early employees

Relocation support

Job summary

Approach Venture LLC in San Francisco, CA seeks a founding Electrical Hardware Development Engineer to own the laser driver electronics, power systems, and flight-grade control hardware for a first-of-its-kind spacecraft.

You will design boards, assemble and test by hand, and work closely with mechanical, optics, and software engineers to integrate the system into a flight vehicle. This is a hands-on, founder-level role with complete ownership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of hands-on electrical hardware design, build, and test.
• Strong power electronics fundamentals across conversion, distribution, protection, and energy storage.
• Board-level design in Altium or equivalent, plus hands-on assembly and rework.

Responsibilities

• Own the electrical architecture for the laser payload and supporting systems from concept through build, test, and flight.
• Design space-rated laser driver electronics delivering high peak power reliably.
• Develop high-discharge-rate battery systems including cell selection, pack design, and BMS.
• Design power distribution units, switching, protection, and harnessing for high-power loads.
• Build actuator drive and control boards for pointing mechanisms and moving hardware.
• Take designs from schematic to assembly, bring-up, and debug at board and system levels.
• Collaborate with mechanical engineers on packaging, thermal paths, connectors, and cabling.
• Plan and run functional, thermal vacuum, vibration, and EMI testing; fix issues.

Skills

Electrical hardware design

Power electronics fundamentals

Subsystem integration

Soldering & rework

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium

Job description

Approach Venture LLC in San Francisco, CA seeks a founding Electrical Hardware Development Engineer to own the laser driver electronics, power systems, and flight-grade control hardware for a first-of-its-kind spacecraft.

You will design boards, assemble and test by hand, and work closely with mechanical, optics, and software engineers to integrate the system into a flight vehicle. This is a hands-on, founder-level role with complete ownership.