Senior Electric Propulsion Engineer: Cathode Systems Lead

Apex Technology, Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Apex

Healthcare (comprehensive)

PTO 15–20 days + holidays

401(k) matching

Parental leave

Catered lunch

Playa Vista office

Impactful work

Job summary

Apex Technology, Inc. seeks a Senior Electric Propulsion Engineer to own hollow and heaterless cathode development for in-house Hall-effect thruster systems. You will lead design, testing, and production decisions, driving life characterization and CFD/physics models, while integrating with systems and PPU interfaces.

You will guide campaigns in vacuum facilities, validate models with test data, and mentor propulsion engineers to scale production from development to flight.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, plasma/propulsion engineering, applied physics, or a related field.
• 6+ years of relevant electric propulsion experience with a Bachelor's or Master's degree, OR a Ph.D. with 3+ years of relevant industry experience, with substantial focus on cathode design, development, and testing.
• Deep, hands-on knowledge of hollow and/or heaterless cathode physics, including thermionic emission, emitter materials, plasma discharge behavior, keeper/orifice design, and cathode coupling to Hall or ion thrusters.
• Experience planning and executing cathode or EP test campaigns in vacuum facilities, including plasma diagnostics, performance measurement, and life/wear testing.
• Strong understanding of failure and degradation mechanisms that drive cathode life, including emitter depletion, erosion, poisoning, and contamination, and how to design and test against them.
• Working knowledge of spacecraft propulsion system architecture, propellant feed systems, and PPU interaction.
• Experience owning hardware through design, development, build, and test.
• Ability to decompose requirements and ICDs and communicate clearly across engineering disciplines.
• Must be a U.S. Person (ITAR).

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end design and development of hollow and/or heaterless cathodes for Apex's electric propulsion systems, including emitter selection, keeper and orifice geometry, heater design, and thermal-mechanical packaging.
• Develop physics-based and empirical models to predict cathode performance, discharge behavior, thermal margins, and life, and validate them against test data.
• Define and execute cathode test and life-qualification campaigns, including ignition and conditioning, coupling voltage characterization, thermal cycling, plume/plasma diagnostics, wear testing, and long-duration life testing in vacuum facilities.
• Drive cathode-thruster integration, optimizing cathode-to-anode coupling, mass flow split, and placement for overall EP system performance and stability.
• Develop cathode erosion, poisoning, and degradation models and perform filtration and contamination-control analysis to demonstrate compliance with propulsion budgets for life, power, thermal, leak, and contamination.
• Select emitter and structural materials and processes, including LaB6, BaO-impregnated tungsten, and refractory metals, and qualify them for spaceflight and scalable production.
• Optimize cathode designs for performance, weight, cost, manufacturability, and repeatability, and develop the work instructions, process flows, and AI&T procedures required to build them at rate.
• Partner with systems, power electronics, thermal, structures, and avionics teams to define interfaces, including cathode heater/keeper drive and PPU interaction, and verify requirements.
• Support the build, integration, and test of flight hardware, as well as launch campaigns, on-orbit performance evaluation, and anomaly resolution.
• Lead and contribute to failure analysis, root-cause investigations, and continuous design improvements to support future builds and scalable production.
• Provide technical mentorship to propulsion engineers and contribute to the continued development of Apex's cathode and electric propulsion capability.

Skills

Cathode design

Electric propulsion

Test campaigns

Thermal design

Materials selection

Cross-functional comms

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace/mechanical/electrical/plasma propulsion or related

Tools

Plasma diagnostics

Vacuum testing

Test equipment handling

Job description

Apex Technology, Inc. seeks a Senior Electric Propulsion Engineer to own hollow and heaterless cathode development for in-house Hall-effect thruster systems. You will lead design, testing, and production decisions, driving life characterization and CFD/physics models, while integrating with systems and PPU interfaces.

You will guide campaigns in vacuum facilities, validate models with test data, and mentor propulsion engineers to scale production from development to flight.