Lead Electrical Engineer

Northwood Space; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwood Space is seeking a Lead Electrical Engineer to drive digital compute and power electronics for our space-grade antennas and ground stations. You will oversee architecture, design, bring-up, and integration of high-speed digital systems including FPGAs and networking subsystems.

In this role you’ll lead a team in fast-paced development, collaborating across hardware and software to optimize performance, manage EMI/EMC, and ensure manufacturability for production deployment worldwide.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional experience in electrical design.
• Experience running electrical engineering team in high-stakes environments.
• Proficient in high-density/high-speed design (including FPGAs, high speed data converters, SerDes, 10/100 GigE, networking, JESD204C).
• Proficient in schematic capture and good PCB layout design.
• Experience with troubleshooting EMI/EMC, either conducted or radiated.
• Knowledge of PCB materials and developing board stack-up definition.
• Familiarity with soldering and hot air rework methods.
• Experience with full product lifecycle (concept through production).

Responsibilities

• Lead electrical system architecture, providing expertise on compute, networking, and power.
• Drive electrical design for high-speed digital communication systems, implementing RF and mixed-signal designs in complex, multilayer PCBs.
• Work with 100G high speed networking, complex digital power trees, and drive system trades for architecture decisions.
• Perform schematic capture, layout, and bring-up on a variety of different digital systems including FPGAs, microcontrollers, and their associated peripherals.
• Collaborate across hardware and software teams to optimize system performance and overall design.
• Test prototypes and assess performance in the lab and in the field.
• Work with production teams to make testable and manufacturable products that we can integrate in-house.

Skills

Electrical design

Team leadership

High-speed design

Schematic capture

EMI/EMC troubleshooting

Board layout

Tools

FPGAs

SerDes

10/100 GigE

JESD204C

Job description

About Northwood:

Northwood is a modern space infrastructure company bringing the benefits of space to the masses through advanced communications technology. We are building a global network of phased array ground stations that enable real-time, reliable communication for satellite missions such as national security, global connectivity, and disaster response. With a vertically integrated approach, Northwood designs, builds, and rapidly deploys scalable systems that power the next generation of space missions. If you like solving complex challenges and seeing your work deployed around the world with real impact, Northwood is the place to do it.

Role:

Northwood is looking for a Lead Electrical Engineer to help drive the development of our digital compute and power electronics. These complex digital systems ensure that our antennas can meet high-rate processing needs no matter where they are deployed around the world. Our hardware team prioritizes excellent engineering, building end products that are known for their reliability, scalability, and cost.

Responsibilities:

• Lead electrical system architecture, providing expertise on compute, networking, and power
• Drive electrical design for high-speed digital communication systems, implementing RF and mixed-signal designs in complex, multilayer PCBs
• Work with 100G high speed networking, complex digital power trees, and drive system trades for architecture decisions
• Perform schematic capture, layout, and bring-up on a variety of different digital systems including FPGAs, microcontrollers, and their associated peripherals
• Collaborate across hardware and software teams to optimize system performance and overall design
• Test prototypes and assess performance in the lab and in the field
• Work with production teams to make testable and manufacturable products that we can integrate in-house

Basic Qualifications:

• 5+ years of professional experience in electrical design
• Experience running electrical engineering team in high-stakes environments
• Proficient in high-density/high-speed design (including FPGAs, high speed data converters, SerDes, 10/100 GigE, networking, JESD204C)
• Proficient in schematic capture and good PCB layout design
• Experience with troubleshooting EMI/EMC, either conducted or radiated
• Knowledge of PCB materials and developing board stack-up definition
• Familiarity with soldering and hot air rework methods
• Experience with full product lifecycle (concept through production)

Preferred Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience designing high-speed mixed-signal electronics and complex multilayer PCBs for FPGA-or processor-based systems
• Strong expertise in high-speed interfaces and networking technologies such as multi-gigabit SerDes, DDR, JESD204B/C, and 10/100G Ethernet
• Deep understanding of signal integrity, power integrity, EMI/EMC mitigation, PCB stack-up definition, and high-performance board layout practices
• Proven experience leading hardware development from architecture and prototype bring-up through validation, manufacturing, and production ramp
• Hands-on experience debugging complex hardware systems using advanced lab instrumentation and driving root-cause analysis across board and system levels
• Ability to lead cross-functional technical efforts, mentor junior engineers, and make sound engineering tradeoffs in fast-paced development environments

Additional Information:

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

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.

Northwood Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Northwood Space 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.