Satellite Engineer

Socket.dev; Kent (WA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement savings plan

Paid time off

10 paid holidays per calendar year

Paid parental leave

Relocation assistance

Daily lunch in the office

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp in California is hiring across multiple satellite engineering disciplines and is seeking engineers with experience designing, building, integrating, testing, or operating spacecraft systems. This is a broad opportunity for individuals who thrive in hands-on environments and want meaningful ownership over mission-critical space hardware.

Depending on background, roles may span spacecraft systems engineering, avionics, power, thermal, and flight software, offering an ownership

Qualifications

• Strong aerospace engineering fundamentals.
• Hands-on experience with flight hardware or launch systems.
• Ability to work across design, integration, test, and operations.
• Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
• Ownership mindset with a willingness to solve problems outside defined boundaries.

Skills

Aerospace fundamentals

Flight hardware experience

Cross-disciplinary collaboration

Ambiguity tolerance

Ownership mindset

Job description

About Cowboy Space Corp

Mission

Cowboy Space Corporation is solving the global energy crisis by building the infrastructure for abundant, resilient space-based solar energy. We are tackling one of humanity’s most complex engineering challenges with a world-class team dedicated to delivering a revolutionary power platform. Cowboy Space Corporation is transforming how civilization powers, computes and connects - from orbit to Earth.

Background

Cowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our modular, scalable satellites collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit to enable multiple integrated applications: transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit high-performance computing clusters (GPU/TPU), and providing secure, high bandwidth optical data transport. Current energy and data systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure. Cowboy Space Corporation overcomes these challenges by enabling direct, on-demand, secure, and scalable energy distribution and data processing from space. This will revolutionize how we operate in orbit and on Earth, supporting the rapidly expanding space industrial base, ISAM (In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing) operations, remote regions, and military bases. Baiju Bhatt founded Cowboy Space Corporation in 2024. Inspired by his father’s work with NASA Langley Research Center, Baiju earned his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics at Stanford before co-founding Robinhood, now a public company that has helped over 20 million Americans access the financial system. Cowboy Space Corporation has raised ~$365 million from Index Ventures, Interlagos, Construct Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and others. This is an ambitious mission that demands extraordinary talent. Cowboy Space Corporation ’s team has worked at places like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis and NASA, and is based in San Carlos, CA. If you're ready to solve complex technical challenges and help build the most important energy company in the world, we want to hear from you.

We are hiring across multiple satellite engineering disciplines and are looking for engineers with experience designing, building, integrating, testing, or operating spacecraft systems.

This is a broad opportunity for highly technical engineers who thrive in hands‑on environments and want meaningful ownership over mission‑critical space hardware.

Depending on background and experience, engineers may work across:

• Spacecraft systems engineering
• Satellite integration and test
• Avionics and embedded systems
• Power systems
• Thermal and fluid systems
• Structures and mechanisms
• GNC and mission operations
• Payload integration
• Flight software and ground systems

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong aerospace engineering fundamentals
• Hands‑on experience with flight hardware or launch systems
• Ability to work across design, integration, test, and operations
• Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast‑moving environments
• Ownership mindset with a willingness to solve problems outside defined boundaries

Compensation and Benefits

• Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.
• Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) retirement savings plan
• Paid time off
• 10 paid holidays per calendar year
• Paid parental leave
• Relocation assistance if applicable
• Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks

ITAR Requirements

• Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants 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. Learn more about ITAR here.

Disclaimer

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.’s discretion.

Cowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.