Satellite Hardware Engineer: Bring‑up & High‑Speed Tests

GCS Recruitment; Kent (WA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

GCS Recruitment is seeking a hands-on Hardware Engineer to transform fabricated boards into flight-ready hardware in a lab-centric role. You will own bring-up, validation, and debugging of complex satellite electronics, including high-speed interfaces and advanced phased-array systems.

Ideal candidates have 8+ years of hardware engineering experience, strong PCB debugging skills, and familiarity with DDR, PCIe, JESD204, and Ethernet 25G+.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hardware-focused Electrical Engineering experience.
• Experience designing and debugging complex PCBs.
• Proven board bring-up, validation, and root-cause analysis skills.
• Familiar with DDR, PCIe, JESD204, Ethernet 25G+, and SerDes-based architectures.
• Hands-on use of oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and high-speed test gear.
• Experience bringing products from concept to manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Lead first-time bring-up of complex satellite hardware and high-performance digital boards.
• Power-on, debug, and validate newly fabricated boards.
• Investigate and resolve electrical, signal integrity, and power integrity issues.
• Execute validation plans covering functionality, performance, and reliability.
• Work with design engineers to drive hardware improvements for future revisions.
• Support integration and test activities across engineering teams.
• Deliver validated hardware ready for downstream testing and qualification.
• Provide hands-on feedback to influence next-generation designs.

Skills

8+ years hardware engineering

PCB design & bring‑up

Hardware validation & root cause

DDR

PCIe

JESD204

Ethernet 25G+

SerDes architectures

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

Protocol analyzers

High-speed test equipment

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

Protocol analyzers

High-speed test equipment

Job description

We're looking for a hands-on Hardware Engineer who thrives in the lab and enjoys solving problems where failure isn't an option.

This is an opportunity to work on advanced satellite communication hardware built around custom silicon, high-speed digital architectures, and complex phased-array systems. You'll be responsible for transforming newly manufactured boards into flight-ready hardware through bring-up, validation, root-cause analysis, and relentless debugging.

If you're the engineer who gets called when a board won't boot, a high-speed link won't train, or a power rail doesn't behave as expected, we want to talk to you.

What You'll Own

• Lead first-time bring-up of complex satellite electronics and high-performance digital hardware.
• Power-on, debug, and validate newly fabricated boards.
• Investigate and resolve electrical, signal integrity, power integrity, and system-level issues.
• Execute validation plans covering functionality, performance, reliability, and high-speed interfaces.
• Drive hardware improvements by partnering directly with design engineers on future revisions.
• Support integration and test activities across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Deliver thoroughly validated hardware ready for downstream system and antenna testing.
• Influence next-generation designs through hands-on engineering feedback.

The Hardware

You'll work with:

• Dense multilayer PCB designs
• Custom ASIC-based platforms
• High-speed serial interfaces
• Advanced communication systems
• Large-scale phased-array electronics
• Multi-gigabit networking architectures
• Mission-critical hardware operating in demanding environments

What We're Looking For

Required

• 8+ years of hardware-focused Electrical Engineering experience.
• Demonstrated experience designing and debugging complex PCBs.
• Strong expertise in board bring-up, validation, and root-cause analysis.
• Deep familiarity with:
  • DDR
  • PCIe
  • JESD204
  • Ethernet (25G+)
  • SerDes-based architectures
• Extensive hands-on use of:
  • Oscilloscopes
  • Logic analyzers
  • Protocol analyzers
  • High-speed test equipment
• Experience supporting products from concept through manufacturing.

Preferred

• Satellite, spacecraft, launch vehicle, aerospace, defense, or other mission-critical hardware experience.
• Phased-array, radar, communications, or RF systems exposure.
• ASIC, SoC, or FPGA-based hardware platforms.
• Python-based lab automation.
• Experience working in fast-paced development environments where hardware ships quickly and ownership is expected.

Ideal Backgrounds

We'd especially love to hear from engineers who have worked on:

• Satellite systems
• Broadband space networks
• Spacecraft avionics
• Launch vehicle electronics
• Flight hardware
• Defense communications systems
• Advanced networking hardware
• High-performance computing platforms

GCS is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.