Principal Component Engineer I

CesiumAstro; Melbourne (KY); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company stock options

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Life and disability insurance

Retirement plans

Job summary

CesiumAstro is seeking a Principal Component Engineer I in Melbourne, Kentucky, to lead the selection and qualification of EEE components for space applications. Candidates should have a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and at least 8 years of relevant experience.

This position offers opportunities for growth in technical leadership. Responsibilities include working with cross-functional teams to determine testing requirements and ensuring compliance with industry standards, as well as developing innovative solutions for component selection and processing.

Qualifications

• Minimum 8 years of experience as a component engineer.
• Knowledge of component selection for aerospace applications.
• Ability to work independently and meet agile timelines.

Responsibilities

• Act as technical representative to define testing requirements.
• Develop a roadmap for state-of-the-art components.
• Evaluate compliance of components with industry requirements.

Skills

EEE components engineering

Communication skills

Technical leadership

Problem-solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Job description

Please Note: To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

At CesiumAstro, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross‑functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands‑on, interactive, and autonomous work, CesiumAstro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward‑thinking individuals to join our team.

We are looking to add a Principal Component Engineer I to our team. If you enjoy working in a startup environment and are passionate about developing leading‑edge electronics for satellites, spacecraft, and aerospace systems, we would like to hear from you.

In this position, you will be a key member of our product development team, leading the parts and component selection, qualification, failure root‑cause analysis, standardization, vendor evaluations, and performance verification efforts. The ideal candidate is experienced in EEE components engineering for commercial space applications.

Qualified candidates will have ample growth opportunities, with the potential to build our company and processes through technical leadership roles or broader functional management roles.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Act as CesiumAstro’s technical representative with customers to define testing and qualification requirements for all EEE parts.
• Work all aspects of high‑reliability EEE parts selection, standardization, qualification, and performance verification on a growing team.
• Develop a roadmap for state‑of‑the‑art components, working with the engineering design team for an effective product upgrade strategy while balancing cost and schedule.
• Provide EEE part expertise and support on aerospace programs, reviewing customer documents and aligning their needs with the company’s product lines.
• Evaluate components for compliance to industry requirements such as EEE‑INST‑002, AEC, TOR, JEDEC, and others.
• Author parts plans and process definition documents for internal and external use.
• Write and review Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) to component‑level procurement and test control documents.
• Develop process improvements for streamlined component‑level ECOs review and adjudication.
• Experience building relationships with space part suppliers.
• Review screening and test data received from manufacturers and test laboratories for compliance to specifications, purchase order requirements, and program contracts.
• Interface internally with design engineers, reliability engineers, and quality engineers in support of risk mitigation and product development review efforts.
• Prepare Non‑Standard Parts Approval Requests (NSPARs) and Source Control Drawings (SCDs).
• Perform bill‑of‑materials cost analysis, components research and obsolescence mitigation, and supplier audits.

JOB REQUIREMENTS AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant prior experience as a component engineer.
• Knowledge of component selection, qualification, screening and derating for military and aerospace.
• Familiar with management of new part requests, part objects, and part attributes in a Product Lifecycle Management System.
• Direct experience with parts plans for high‑volume satellite constellations, evaluating parts screening and qualification in the context of high‑volume constellation performance.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong desire to change an industry and disrupt incumbent players.
• Sense of urgency, with the ability to work independently under agile development timelines.
• Willingness to learn and work in both a support capacity and as a lead on differing functions.

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• Demonstrated technical leadership in component engineering by mentoring junior component engineers and educating designers within your area of expertise.
• Participate in failure analysis investigations of defective components and author failure analysis reports as required.
• Knowledge and working familiarity with key reliability analyses for space mission hardware (prediction, derating, FMECA, WCA).
• Experience with radiation effects on electronics (TID, SEE) and common mitigation techniques.
• Knowledge and working familiarity with key materials and process requirements for tin whisker mitigation.
• Experience with components in ground or air applications.
• Knowledge of EEE component manufacturing processes.
• Experience with a breadth of electronic component types, including RF devices and FPGAs.

CesiumAstro considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills. Full‑time employment offers include company stock options and a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability and retirement plans.

CesiumAstro is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard torace, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.