Senior Hall-Effect Propulsion Engineer — Lead EP Design

Apex Space, Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Healthcare coverage

PTO

401(k) with match

Parental leave

Catered lunches

Office culture

Playa Vista office

Career impact

Job summary

Apex Space, Inc. seeks a Senior Electric Propulsion Engineer to own Hall-effect thruster design for production-scale space propulsion. You will drive design decisions, lead test campaigns, and work with cross-disciplinary teams to deliver flight-ready hardware.

This senior IC role requires deep Hall thruster knowledge, plasma modeling, and hands-on testing. You will mentor engineers and help scale Apex's EP capability for flight and production programs in Playa Vista, CA.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, or related field.
• 6+ years in electric propulsion with Hall thruster focus (or PhD with 3+ years).
• Hands-on design, development, and test of thruster hardware.
• Experience planning vacuum-based test campaigns and diagnostics.
• Knowledge of life, wear, and thermal mechanisms in Hall thrusters.
• Familiarity with spacecraft propulsion architectures and PPU interfaces.
• Ability to decompose requirements and communicate across teams.
• U.S. Person per ITAR regulations.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end Hall-thruster design, including discharge channel and magnetic circuit.
• Develop plasma models for ionization, acceleration, and efficiency.
• Plan and execute thruster test and life-qualification campaigns.
• Model erosion and life for chamber components and ensure mission compliance.
• Drive system integration with cathodes, propellant feed, and PPU.
• Select materials and processes compatible with spaceflight production.
• Optimize designs for performance, mass, cost, and manufacturability.
• Collaborate with systems, power, thermal, and avionics teams on interfaces.
• Support flight hardware build, integration, and launch campaigns.
• Lead failure analysis and continuous design improvements.
• Mentor propulsion engineers and advance Apex Hall propulsion capability.

Skills

Hall-effect thrusters

Electric propulsion

Thermal management

Test campaigns

System integration

Materials selection

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field

PhD in electric propulsion or plasma physics (with experience)

Tools

Vacuum test facilities

Plasma diagnostics equipment

Job description

Apex Space, Inc. seeks a Senior Electric Propulsion Engineer to own Hall-effect thruster design for production-scale space propulsion. You will drive design decisions, lead test campaigns, and work with cross-disciplinary teams to deliver flight-ready hardware.

This senior IC role requires deep Hall thruster knowledge, plasma modeling, and hands-on testing. You will mentor engineers and help scale Apex's EP capability for flight and production programs in Playa Vista, CA.