Senior Digital Payload Engineer II — Spacegrade Modems & DSP

Rocketlab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 145,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Company equity / 401(k) plan

Onsite gym and facilities

Employee discounts

EV charging stations

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is hiring a Senior Digital Payload Engineer II to lead the development of new digital payload products, including modems, processors, and routers, from concept through inflight operations. You will design, validate, and integrate high‑speed digital systems and contribute to production rollout in a fast-paced environment.

The role requires strong RF, system, and board design capability, 8+ years in space electronics, and US citizenship.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer science; or other engineering discipline.
• 8+ years of experience in space electronics with expertise in high speed serial interfaces, SOCs, microcontrollers, and DSP.
• Experience in developing and delivering a digital product including prototyping and space-grade production.
• Detailed knowledge of DSP algorithms and communication theory.
• U.S. citizenship required due to program requirements.

Responsibilities

• Define and maintain requirements specifications for digital payload products.
• Architect the digital product design and oversee development alignment with capabilities.
• Design and prototype the digital product including PCB layout and fabrication.
• Develop test plans and procedures for validation.
• Support production automation and documentation including ICDs.
• Collaborate with Test and Manufacturing Engineers to drive New Product Introduction.
• Review proposals and scope new development activities; support PDRs/CDRs/TRRs.
• Provide technical support to internal/external customers and troubleshoot anomalies.

Skills

High speed interfaces (SPI, PCIe, ETH)

System on chips

Microcontrollers

Digital signal processing

DSP algorithms

Communication theory

U.S. citizenship

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, computer science or related engineering discipline

Job description

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is hiring a Senior Digital Payload Engineer II to lead the development of new digital payload products, including modems, processors, and routers, from concept through inflight operations. You will design, validate, and integrate high‑speed digital systems and contribute to production rollout in a fast-paced environment.

The role requires strong RF, system, and board design capability, 8+ years in space electronics, and US citizenship.