Senior Hall-Effect Thruster Engineer: Equity & Impact

Apex Technology, Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Apex

Comprehensive healthcare

PTO 15-20 days

401(k) with employer match

Parental leave

Catered lunch

Playa Vista office

Impactful aerospace work

Job summary

Apex Technology, Inc. seeks a Senior Electric Propulsion Engineer to own Hall-effect thruster design from plasma physics to production.

You will lead test campaigns, life-qualification, and production integration in a rapid-growth space hardware environment. This senior IC role requires deep hands-on knowledge of Hall thruster dynamics, thermal management, and spacecraft propulsion integration, with opportunities to shape manufacturing processes and flight-ready hardware.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, plasma/propulsion engineering, applied physics, or 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 experience focusing on Hall-effect thrusters.
• Deep knowledge of Hall thruster physics and design: discharge channel, magnetic circuit, anode, and thermal management.
• Experience planning and executing Hall thruster or EP test campaigns in vacuum facilities.
• Understanding of failure/degradation mechanisms affecting Hall thruster life and how to test against them.
• Knowledge of spacecraft propulsion system architecture, propellant feed systems, and PPU interaction.
• Experience owning hardware from design to test.
• Ability to decompose requirements and communicate across disciplines.
• Must be a U.S. Person per ITAR regulations.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end design and development of Apex Hall-effect thrusters, including geometry and thermal packaging.
• Develop plasma physics models to drive thruster performance across operating envelope.
• Define and execute thruster test and life-qualification campaigns in vacuum facilities.
• Develop degradation and life models for discharge channel and pole pieces.
• Drive integration with cathode, propellant feed, and PPU owners.
• Select materials and processes and qualify them for spaceflight and scalable production.
• Optimize designs for performance, mass, cost, and manufacturability; create work instructions and processes.
• Collaborate with systems, power electronics, thermal, and avionics teams to define interfaces.
• Support flight hardware build, integration, and test; assist launch campaigns and anomaly resolution.
• Lead failure analysis and contribute to design improvements and future builds.
• Mentor propulsion engineers and advance Apex Hall thruster capabilities.

Skills

Hall thruster design

Electric propulsion

Test campaigns

Thermal management

System integration

Education

PhD in electric propulsion

Bachelor's degree in aerospace/ mechanical/ electrical

Job description

Apex Technology, Inc. seeks a Senior Electric Propulsion Engineer to own Hall-effect thruster design from plasma physics to production.

You will lead test campaigns, life-qualification, and production integration in a rapid-growth space hardware environment. This senior IC role requires deep hands-on knowledge of Hall thruster dynamics, thermal management, and spacecraft propulsion integration, with opportunities to shape manufacturing processes and flight-ready hardware.