Senior Compute Validation Engineer

Socket.dev; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; 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 year

Paid parental leave

Relocation assistance if applicable

Daily lunch in the office

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. in the United States is seeking a hands-on engineer to own validation across electrical, firmware, thermal, mechanical, and system software teams for launch and post-deployment milestones.

You will lead board bring-up, develop validation methodologies, and debug hardware-software interactions to ensure robust, flight-ready compute hardware. Strong ownership and cross-functional collaboration are essential.

Qualifications

• Experience in board design review and system validation.
• 5+ years designing and building compute hardware systems.
• Strong background in server/embedded compute platforms.
• Deep understanding of motherboard architecture and high-speed signaling.
• Hands-on debugging with test equipment.
• Experience with scripting in Python, C/C++.
• Strong ownership and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead board bring-up and system validation for advanced edge compute platforms.
• Develop validation methodologies covering signal integrity, power integrity, power sequencing, thermal behavior, and system reliability.
• Debug complex hardware and firmware interactions across high-speed interconnects (PCIe, Nvidia NVLink, AMD XGMI), memory subsystems, BMC/SMC and HMC architectures.
• Perform detailed board analysis using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and power instrumentation.
• Drive root-cause analysis for system failures discovered during validation and environmental testing.
• Design and validate interfaces using protocols such as I2C, SPI, and UART.
• Partner closely with mechanical, thermal, firmware, and software teams to ensure robust system integration.
• Help define engineering standards and validation processes for flight-ready compute hardware.

Skills

Board design review

System validation

Compute hardware engineering

High-speed signaling

Python/C scripting

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

Protocol analyzers

Power instrumentation

Ownership mindset

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Logic analyzers

Protocol analyzers

Power instrumentation

Python

C/C++

Job description

Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit to collect sunlight and enable a new class of capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute, to transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit compute to delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data. By rethinking how energy and data are generated and distributed in space, we’re unlocking entirely new ways to operate both in orbit and on Earth.

Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood), Cowboy Space Corp. is backed by leading investors and built by a team from top aerospace and defense organizations. We’re moving quickly to solve complex technical challenges and build a new category of space infrastructure.

The Role

This role is highly hands-on. You will own validation strategy and work across electrical, firmware, thermal, mechanical, and system software teams to uncover and resolve failure modes during launch and after orbital deployment.

Responsibilities

• Lead board bring-up and system validation for advanced edge compute platforms.

• Develop validation methodologies covering signal integrity, power integrity, power sequencing, thermal behavior, and system reliability.

• Debug complex hardware and firmware interactions across High-speed interconnects (PCIe, Nvidia NVLink, AMD XGMI), memory subsystems, BMC/SMC and HMC architectures.

• Perform detailed board analysis using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, protocol analyzers, and power instrumentation.

• Drive root-cause analysis for system failures discovered during validation and environmental testing.

• Design and validate interfaces using protocols such as I2C, SPI, and UART.

• Partner closely with mechanical, thermal, firmware, and software teams to ensure robust system integration.

• Help define engineering standards and validation processes for flight-ready compute hardware.

Basic Qualifications

• Experience in board design review, system validation, or compute hardware engineering.

• 5+ years of experience designing and building compute hardware system

• Strong background in server, accelerated compute, or embedded compute platforms.

• Deep understanding of motherboard architecture, high-speed signaling, power delivery systems, and system management infrastructure.

• Extensive hands-on debugging experience at board and system level.

• Proficiency with lab equipment including oscilloscopes and protocol analyzers.

• Experience with scripting or automation in Python, C/C++, or similar languages.

• Strong ownership mentality and ability to independently drive technical problems to resolution.

• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience designing and building compute hardware system

• Experience with remote management technologies such as Redfish or IPMI.

• Experience with spacecraft avionics, power systems, and thermal systems

• Experience with environmental testing (vibe, thermal vacuum, EMI/EMC)

• Radiation testing for LEO avionics background

• Track record of ownership and leadership

Why this Role is Different

• Own critical hardware systems, not just a small component

• Fast iteration cycles with direct path from design to hardware testing

• Work closely across disciplines in a tightly integrated team

• High autonomy and ownership with real impact on the spacecraft

• Opportunity to help define hardware systems for a new class of space infrastructure

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $150,000 – $200,000 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.

• 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.