Head of Electrical Engineering

AdAstra; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 175,000 - 225,000; Full time

Job summary

AdAstra is seeking an experienced Electrical Engineering Lead for off-Earth manufacturing hardware. You will own electrical systems from concept through flight, coordinating across power electronics, avionics, RF, and test interfaces to ensure flightworthy hardware and repeatable integration.

Ideal candidates have space-grade electronics experience, HITL systems, and a track record in high-reliability environments.

Qualifications

• Experience developing spacecraft, satellite, launch, or other hardware built for vacuum, thermal, vibration, shock, and radiation environments.
• Space robotics experience, or electrical design for precisely controlled mechanisms and the control circuitry behind them.
• Experience designing, integrating, or qualifying high-reliability electronics with space-rated, radiation-tolerant, or rad-hard components.
• Experience developing HITL systems, automated test, or qualification setups, with scripting in Python, MATLAB, or similar.
• Experience supporting environmental and qualification testing, including thermal vacuum, vibration, shock, and EMI/EMC.
• Experience in early-stage or high-growth environments where speed and judgment matter.

Responsibilities

• Lead electrical design and R&D for reusable autonomous manufacturing vessels, including architecture, trade studies, detailed design, and integration across power electronics, avionics, RF, instrumentation, and test interfaces.
• Directly own major ECAD assemblies and electrical product structure/BOM for critical systems, maintaining strong configuration discipline and high-quality release packages.
• Drive the full hardware lifecycle from blank-sheet concept through schematic capture, PCB layout, prototype build, board bring-up, verification, qualification, and integration.
• Design and analyze circuits for high-power electronics, power conversion and distribution, and mixed-signal interfaces using space-rated components.
• Lead hands-on assembly, lab bring-up, and integration; develop post-launch checkout and test flows for repeated flight operations.
• Define the direction of the team's electrical engineering and mentor engineers as the team grows.

Job description

About the Company

Our client is turning space into a factory floor. For decades, the semiconductor industry has faced a trade-off: the harder you push for performance, the more you sacrifice on yield and reliability. This early-stage team is changing that. They are developing off-Earth foundries that leverage the ultra-high vacuum of space to produce materials with purity and defect performance that no terrestrial fab can match.

This is not a science project; this is entirely new industrial capability, with launches already on the manifest. That means real hardware, rapid iteration, and a willingness to challenge assumptions from first principles as they design, fly, and improve mission by mission.

About the Role

This role is pivotal to making off-Earth manufacturing a reality. You will own the electrical systems that bring the manufacturing hardware to life, translating ambiguous mission and business requirements into flightworthy hardware and integration plans, and defining how the electrical team operates as they scale.

You will work shoulder-to-shoulder with exceptional engineers across disciplines, carrying hardware from first concept through flight and every iteration after. This is the kind of role where the right person shapes the engineering playbook, not just executes it.

Responsibilities

• Lead electrical design and R&D for the reusable autonomous manufacturing vessels, including architecture, trade studies, detailed design, and integration across power electronics, avionics, RF, instrumentation, and test interfaces.
• Directly own major ECAD assemblies and electrical product structure/BOM for critical systems, holding strong configuration discipline and high-quality release packages.
• Drive the full hardware lifecycle from blank-sheet concept through schematic capture, PCB layout, prototype build, board bring-up, verification, qualification, and integration.
• Design and analyze circuits for high-power electronics, power conversion and distribution, and mixed-signal interfaces, using space-rated and radiation-tolerant components.
• Lead hands-on assembly, lab bring-up, and integration, and develop the post-launch checkout and test flows needed for repeated flight operations.
• Define the direction of the team's electrical engineering and set the technical standard, leading and mentoring engineers as the team grows.

Preferred Experience

• Experience developing spacecraft, satellite, launch, or other hardware built for vacuum, thermal, vibration, shock, and radiation environments.
• Space robotics experience, or electrical design for precisely controlled mechanisms and the control circuitry behind them.
• Experience designing, integrating, or qualifying high-reliability electronics with space-rated, radiation-tolerant, or rad-hard components.
• Experience developing HITL systems, automated test, or qualification setups, with scripting in Python, MATLAB, or similar.
• Experience supporting environmental and qualification testing, including thermal vacuum, vibration, shock, and EMI/EMC.
• Experience in early-stage or high-growth environments where speed and judgment matter.

Compensation

• Annual base pay of $175,000-225,000, plus meaningful early-stage equity.

Logistical Requirements

• Willing to work extended hours and/or weekends as needed around test campaigns, flight readiness, and major customer milestones.
• Ability to travel for short and extended trips as needed.
• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicants must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.