Head of Electrical Engineering, Space Manufacturing — Equity

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

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.