Principal Electrical Engineer I - RPU Unit Lead

Roman Health Pharmacy LLC; Westminster (CO); On-site; USD 150,000 - 182,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

HSA

FSA

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Retirement plan

Job summary

CesiumAstro in Westminster, CO seeks a Principal Electrical Engineer to lead the design, development, integration, test, and flight qualification of advanced spaceborne payloads within the Reconfigurable Processing Unit product line. You will act as the Unit Lead across multidisciplinary teams to ensure timely technical execution from architecture to production transfer.

The role requires a 9+ year background in electronics hardware, leadership experience, and hands-on SDR expertise, with strong

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering or related field.
• 9+ years of engineering experience in electronics hardware development.
• Hands-on experience with software-defined radios.
• Leadership experience mentoring or leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Strong knowledge of systems engineering practices, requirements flowdown, verification/validation, and configuration management.
• Excellent communication skills presenting complex technical information to diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the RPU Unit Lead and primary technical contact throughout the development lifecycle.
• Lead end-to-end engineering for the box including architecture, design, prototyping, integration, test, and flight readiness.
• Coordinate and direct RF, digital, power, mechanical, thermal, software, and systems teams for delivery.
• Maintain schedule accountability for the box development.
• Develop and review payload control schemes, interfaces, and firmware/software integration.
• Manage flight qualification activities including environmental tests and margin assessment.
• Own transition to volume production including manufacturability and documentation.
• Generate and maintain box-level documentation and design reviews.
• Interface with spacecraft systems engineering, mission assurance, manufacturing, vendors, and test facilities.
• Drive root cause analysis, anomaly resolution, and risk mitigation.
• Communicate status and design decisions to leadership and customers.

Skills

Leadership

Systems engineering

Software-defined radios

Electronics hardware

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Job description

Important Note

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.

Company Overview

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. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward-thinking individuals to join our team.

Position

We are seeking a highly skilled Principal Electrical Engineer to lead the design, development, integration, test, and flight qualification of advanced spaceborne payloads. The role focuses on the Unit Lead (Responsible Engineer) in our Reconfigurable Processing Unit (RPU) product line.

Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as the RPU Unit Lead and primary technical point of contact throughout the product development lifecycle.
• Lead the end-to-end engineering effort for the box, including architecture, design, prototyping, integration, test, environmental qualification, and flight readiness.
• Coordinate and direct teams across RF, digital, power, mechanical, thermal, software, and systems engineering to ensure consistent and timely technical execution.
• Hold schedule accountability for the box development.
• Develop and review payload control schemes, internal data interfaces, command & telemetry architecture, and firmware/software integration as needed.
• Manage all flight qualification activities, including environmental test planning (thermal vacuum, vibration, shock, EMC), margin assessment, and final acceptance testing.
• Own the transition to volume production, including manufacturability, testability, and customer‑facing documentation.
• Generate and maintain box‑level documentation: requirements, ICDs, block diagrams, test plans, verification matrices, risk registers, and design reviews.
• Interface with spacecraft systems engineering, mission assurance, manufacturing, vendors, and test facilities.
• Drive root cause analysis, anomaly resolution, and technical risk mitigation throughout development and test campaigns.
• Communicate status, technical trades, risks, and design decisions to internal leadership and external customers.

Job Requirements and Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering or a related field.
• 9+ years of engineering experience in electronics hardware development.
• Hands‑on experience with related technologies such as software‑defined radios.
• Leadership experience, including mentoring or leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Strong knowledge of systems engineering practices, requirements flowdown, verification/validation, and configuration management.
• Excellent communication skills with ability to present complex technical information to diverse audiences.

Preferred Experience

• Demonstrated understanding of payload control systems, digital interfaces, command & data handling, and embedded hardware/software interactions.
• Proven experience executing or overseeing flight qualification and environmental test campaigns (TVAC, vibration/shock, EMC, radiation considerations).
• Experience managing hardware/software product development projects.
• Experience with radiation‑tolerant design.
• Experience with high‑rate manufacturing, rapid development cycles, and/or NewSpace ecosystems.
• Prior role as Responsible Engineer, Technical Lead, IPT Lead, or Chief Engineer on flight hardware.
• Background in digital signal processing, beamforming algorithms, or embedded firmware for payload control.
• Experience mentoring less‑experienced project engineers and design engineers in associated disciplines.
• High energy and a “get it done” attitude.

Compensation

$150,000 - $182,000 a year

Benefits

Full‑time employment offers include company stock options and a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability and retirement plans.

Equal Opportunity Employer

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

Application Note

Please note: CesiumAstro does not accept unsolicited resumes from contract agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited resumes submitted to our website or to CesiumAstro team members will be considered property of CesiumAstro, and we will not be obligated to pay any referral fees.