Senior Electrical Engineer - Spacecraft and Instruments

University of Colorado Boulder; Boulder (CO); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(a) retirement plan

Medical, dental, life insurance

Paid vacation

Paid sick leave

Transit benefits

Job summary

University of Colorado Boulder’s LASP seeks a senior electrical hardware engineer to design, analyze, build, and test electronics for space science missions. The role involves leading small teams, documenting hardware decisions, and owning circuits from schematic capture to PCB bring-up and integration.

You will collaborate across disciplines, mentor junior engineers, and ensure high-reliability spaceflight hardware meets mission requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or closely related field with extensive design ownership.

Responsibilities

• Design in at least one discipline area (analog, mixed-signal, power, embedded, high-speed digital) for spaceflight instruments.

Skills

Circuit design

Schematic analysis

PCB layout

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Technical leadership

Troubleshooting

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Master's degree (preferred)

Doctorate (optional)

Tools

Altium Designer

Cadence OrCAD

KiCad

LTspice

PSpice

Ansys

MATLAB

Python

Job description

Job Summary

Design, analyze, build, and test the electronics behind spacescience missions.

At the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP),electrical engineers develop custom flight and ground electronicsfor scientific instruments and spacecraft exploring Earth, the Sun,the Moon, planets, and the wider universe. We are seeking a seniorelectrical hardware engineer who enjoys hands-on circuit design andcan carry high-reliability electronics from requirements andschematic capture through PCB implementation, board bring-up,environmental qualification, and system integration.

This position requires you to be a motivated, largely self-directedindividual contributor with capabilities to also lead a smallelectrical design team. You will work within a multidisciplinarymission team, make and document consequential hardware decisions,and provide technical direction to keep the electrical designeffort moving forward. You will often be the responsible engineerfor a circuit-card assembly or instrument electrical subsystem, butpeople management is not the focus of the position.

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with allapplicable federal, state, and local laws governingnondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating aworkplace where all individuals are treated with respect anddignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds toapply, including protected veterans and individuals withdisabilities.

Who We Are

LASP combines the agility of a university laboratory with thetechnical capability of a premier space mission organization.Engineers work directly alongside scientists, students, and missionoperators, allowing technical decisions to move quickly whilemaintaining scientific excellence.

As part of the University of Colorado Boulder (CU), LASP began in1948 and is a world-recognized space science research institutethat implements the full life cycle of science missions from thedefinition of the science questions through the development ofspace flight hardware and the subsequent mission operations. We arethe only research institute in the world to have sent scienceinstruments to all eight planets, Pluto, and beyond the solarsystem.

LASP combines all aspects of space exploration through ourexpertise in science, engineering, mission operations, andscientific data analysis. As part of CU, LASP also works to educateand train the next generation of space scientists, engineers andmission operators by integrating undergraduate and graduatestudents into working teams. Our students take their uniqueexperiences with them into government or industry or remain inacademia to continue the cycle of exploration.

What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be

• Focused design in at least one area of discipline includinganalog, mixed-signal, power, motor-control, embedded, andhigh-speed digital electronics for spaceflight instruments andsmall spacecraft. You should have deep experience in at least oneof these areas.
• Develop electrical requirements, interfaces, architecture,grounding, power and performance budgets, fault-managementconcepts, and verification plans with systems, FPGA, software,mechanical, thermal, science, manufacturing, quality, parts, andradiation engineers.
• Capture schematics in Altium Designer, guide and review PCBlayout, and release circuit-card assembly (PCBA) design data forfabrication and assembly.
• Select EEE parts; complete derating, worst-case, reliability,and circuit-performance analyses; and model designs using LTspice,PSpice, Ansys, or comparable simulation tools.
• Bring up and debug new hardware in the laboratory, support EMIand EMC, thermal-vacuum, vibration, and other environmental tests,investigate anomalies, and integrate electronics with instrumentsor spacecraft.
• Prepare and present design decisions, technical risks,verification results, and readiness evidence at internal designreviews and mission milestone reviews. Provide technical leadershipand mentoring within small project teams.
• Other Duties Assigned

The engineer who will thrive here

You can move between schematic design, PCB review, circuitanalysis, laboratory troubleshooting, supplier conversations, andproject decisions without losing the technical thread. Youcommunicate assumptions and residual risk plainly, work well acrossdisciplines, and build the documentation and configurationdiscipline required for reproducible, reviewable flight hardware.Your experience allows you to work day-to-day with minimaldirection and you are excited to mentor early career engineers andstudent engineering assistants.

What You Should Know

• Because this position requires access to export-controlledinformation, applicants must be U.S. citizens, lawful permanentresidents, or other protected individuals as defined by applicableU.S. export-control laws.
• The work requires regular onsite presence in Boulder for flighthardware, laboratory work, and integration. Casual remote work 1 or2 days per week is possible with project approval.

What We Can Offer

$120,416.44 - $189,585.27/per year.

CU Boulder offers a leading 401(a) retirement savings packagematched at 200% with your mandatory 5% salary contribution. That's15% of your pay invested for retirement every month, with 100%immediate vesting through TIAA. CU employees are eligible formedical, dental, and life insurances, plus 3 weeks paid vacationannually and paid sick leave. Additional benefits information canbe found at https://www.colorado.edu/jobs/benefits.

Benefits

At the University of Colorado Boulder , we arecommitted to supporting the holistic health and well-being of ouremployees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes medical,dental, and retirement plans; generous paid time off; tuitionassistance for you and your dependents; and an ECO Pass for localtransit. As one of Boulder County’s largest employers, CU Boulderoffers an inspiring academic community and access to world-classoutdoor recreation. In fact, CU Boulder has been named one of Forbes' America's BestLarge Employers , ranking #4 among large employers in Coloradoand #28 among universities nationwide. Explore additional perks andprograms through the CU Advantage program.

Be Statements

Be ambitious. Be groundbreaking. Be Boulder.

What We Require

• A bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, ComputerEngineering, Physics, or a closely related field with at least 8years of relevant experience; a master's with at least 6 years; ora doctorate with at least 4 years.
• Demonstrated performance with technical ownership of a complexelectronic assembly or subsystem carried from requirements andarchitecture through production, qualification, andintegration.
• Deep capability in at least one relevant design domain, such asanalog or sensor electronics, power conversion, motor control,embedded systems, FPGA-enabled hardware, or high-speed digitaldesign, with working breadth across adjacent disciplines.
• Schematic capture and PCB design experience using AltiumDesigner, or transferable experience with Cadence OrCAD orKiCad.
• Experience modeling and simulating circuit performance usingLTspice, Ansys, MATLAB, Python, or similar tools
• Hands-on experience in the lab for board bring-up, electricaltest, and troubleshooting with standard laboratory equipment suchas oscilloscopes, power supplies, spectrum analyzers.
• Experience working in multidisciplinary teams and providingtechnical leadership for a major engineering work package, designreview, or hardware-development effort.

Strong candidates build expertise in different ways. If this workexcites you and you meet many of these core qualifications, pleaseapply even if your background does not include every core orpreferred qualification.

What You Will Need

You are comfortable making progress when requirements areincomplete and several risks interact. You can move betweenarchitecture, schematic and PCB review, circuit analysis,laboratory troubleshooting, supplier conversations, and programdecisions without losing the technical thread. You communicateassumptions and residual risk plainly, mentor other engineers, andbuild the documentation and configuration discipline needed forreproducible, reviewable flight hardware. You are motivated byLASP’s mission of exploration and furthering humanity’sunderstanding of the cosmos.

What We Would Like You to Have

• Experience with spaceflight, avionics, or otherhigh-reliability electronics, including radiation effects andmitigation, EEE parts, and design for thermal, vacuum, vibration,or shock environments.
• Working knowledge of electronics manufacturing standards,including IPC-6012 and IPC/WHMA-A-620 and experience selecting EEEparts and applying derating guidance such as NASAEEE-INST-002.
• Experience using advanced design simulation and analysissoftware such as Siemens HyperLynx for signal integrity, powerintegrity, or high-speed PCB analysis.
• Knowledge of high-speed digital interfaces and hardware designusing AMD Xilinx and Microchip FPGAs and DDR3 or DDR4 memory.
• Experience presenting to and interfacing with project customersthrough requirements definition, project milestone reviews, designreviews, and anomaly investigations.
• Experience with EMI and EMC design, test, troubleshooting andcorrective-action closure.
• Experience with design for manufacture and test, rigid-flex PCBor harness design, supplier coordination, production support, orautomated electrical test.
• Experience performing worst-case circuit analysis, electricalparts stress analysis, failure modes and effects analysis, orreliability analysis for high-consequence hardware.