Senior/Principal Electrical Engineer - Spacecraft and Instruments

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

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Retirement plan

Paid vacation

Job summary

The University of Colorado Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) seeks a senior electrical hardware engineer to design, analyze, build, and test electronics for space science missions. You will own hands-on circuit design from requirements through PCB implementation and system integration in a multidisciplinary team.

This role requires independent contribution with leadership of a small design group, attention to reliability, radiation considerations, and collaboration

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering with 8+ years experience.
• Proven ownership of a complex electronic assembly from requirements to integration.
• Schematic capture and PCB design experience with Altium or Cadence.

Responsibilities

• Design analog, mixed-signal, power or high-speed digital electronics for spaceflight.
• Develop electrical requirements, budgets, and verification plans.
• Capture schematics and review PCBA data for fabrication and assembly.
• Bring up hardware and support environmental tests.
• Provide technical leadership within small project teams.

Skills

Circuit design

Schematic capture

PCB layout

LTspice

Ansys

MATLAB

Python

FPGA design

Radiation effects

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

Altium Designer

Cadence OrCAD

KiCad

Job description

Job Summary

Design, analyze, build, and test the electronics behind space science missions.

Summary

Design, analyze, build, and test the electronics behind space science missions.

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

This position requires you to be a motivated, largely self‑directed individual contributor with capabilities to also lead a small electrical design team. You will work within a multidisciplinary mission team, make and document consequential hardware decisions, and provide technical direction to keep the electrical design effort moving forward. You will often be the responsible engineer for a circuit‑card assembly or instrument electrical subsystem, but people management is not the focus of the position.

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Who We Are

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

As part of the University of Colorado Boulder (CU), LASP began in 1948 and is a world‑recognized space science research institute that implements the full life cycle of science missions from the definition of the science questions through the development of space flight hardware and the subsequent mission operations. We are the only research institute in the world to have sent science instruments to all eight planets, Pluto, and beyond the solar system.

LASP combines all aspects of space exploration through our expertise in science, engineering, mission operations, and scientific data analysis. As part of CU, LASP also works to educate and train the next generation of space scientists, engineers and mission operators by integrating undergraduate and graduate students into working teams. Our students take their unique experiences with them into government or industry or remain in academia to continue the cycle of exploration.

Responsibilities

Focused design in at least one area of discipline including analog, mixed‑signal, power, motor‑control, embedded, and high‑speed digital electronics for spaceflight instruments and small spacecraft. You should have deep experience in at least one of these areas.

Develop electrical requirements, interfaces, architecture, grounding, power and performance budgets, fault‑management concepts, and verification plans with systems, FPGA, software, mechanical, thermal, science, manufacturing, quality, parts, and radiation engineers.

Capture schematics in Altium Designer, guide and review PCB layout, and release circuit‑card assembly (PCBA) design data for fabrication 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 EMI and EMC, thermal‑vacuum, vibration, and other environmental tests, investigate anomalies, and integrate electronics with instruments or spacecraft.

Prepare and present design decisions, technical risks, verification results, and readiness evidence at internal design reviews and mission milestone reviews. Provide technical leadership and mentoring within small project teams.

Other Duties Assigned

The engineer who will thrive here can move between schematic design, PCB review, circuit analysis, laboratory troubleshooting, supplier conversations, and project decisions without losing the technical thread. You communicate assumptions and residual risk plainly, work well across disciplines, and build the documentation and configuration discipline required for reproducible, reviewable flight hardware. Your experience allows you to work day‑to‑day with minimal direction and you are excited to mentor early career engineers and student engineering assistants.

What You Should Know

Because this position requires access to export‑controlled information, applicants must be U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or other protected individuals as defined by applicable U.S. export‑control laws.

The work requires regular onsite presence in Boulder for flight hardware, laboratory work, and integration. Casual remote work 1 or 2 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 package matched at 200% with your mandatory 5% salary contribution. That's 15% of your pay invested for retirement every month, with 100% immediate vesting through TIAA. CU employees are eligible for medical, dental, and life insurances, plus 3 weeks paid vacation annually and paid sick leave. Additional benefits information can be found at https://www.colorado.edu/jobs/benefits.

Benefits

At the University of Colorado Boulder , we are committed to supporting the holistic health and well‑being of our employees. Our comprehensive benefits package includes medical, dental, and retirement plans; generous paid time off; tuition assistance for you and your dependents; and an ECO Pass for local transit. As one of Boulder County’s largest employers, CU Boulder offers an inspiring academic community and access to world‑class outdoor recreation. In fact, CU Boulder has been named one of Forbes' America's Best Large Employers , ranking #4 among large employers in Colorado and #28 among universities nationwide. Explore additional perks and programs through the CU Advantage program.

Be Statements

Be ambitious. Be groundbreaking. Be Boulder.

What We Require

• A bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or a closely related field with at least 8 years of relevant experience; a master's with at least 6 years; or a doctorate with at least 4 years.
• Demonstrated performance with technical ownership of a complex electronic assembly or subsystem carried from requirements and architecture through production, qualification, and integration.
• Deep capability in at least one relevant design domain, such as analog or sensor electronics, power conversion, motor control, embedded systems, FPGA‑enabled hardware, or high‑speed digital design, with working breadth across adjacent disciplines.
• Schematic capture and PCB design experience using Altium Designer, or transferable experience with Cadence OrCAD or KiCad.
• Experience modeling and simulating circuit performance using LTspice, Ansys, MATLAB, Python, or similar tools
• Hands‑on experience in the lab for board bring‑up, electrical test, and troubleshooting with standard laboratory equipment such as oscilloscopes, power supplies, spectrum analyzers.
• Experience working in multidisciplinary teams and providing technical leadership for a major engineering work package, design review, or hardware‑development effort.

Strong candidates build expertise in different ways. If this work excites you and you meet many of these core qualifications, please apply even if your background does not include every core or preferred qualification.

What You Will Need

You are comfortable making progress when requirements are incomplete and several risks interact. You can move between architecture, schematic and PCB review, circuit analysis, laboratory troubleshooting, supplier conversations, and program decisions without losing the technical thread. You communicate assumptions and residual risk plainly, mentor other engineers, and build the documentation and configuration discipline needed for reproducible, reviewable flight hardware. You are motivated by LASP’s mission of exploration and furthering humanity’s understanding of the cosmos.

What We Would Like You To Have

• Experience with spaceflight, avionics, or other high‑reliability electronics, including radiation effects and mitigation, 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 EEE parts and applying derating guidance such as NASA EEE-INST-002.
• Experience using advanced design simulation and analysis software such as Siemens HyperLynx for signal integrity, power integrity, or high‑speed PCB analysis.
• Knowledge of high‑speed digital interfaces and hardware design using AMD Xilinx and Microchip FPGAs and DDR3 or DDR4 memory.
• Experience presenting to and interfacing with project customers through requirements definition, project milestone reviews, design reviews, and anomaly investigations.
• Experience with EMI and EMC design, test, troubleshooting, and corrective‑action closure.
• Experience with design for manufacture and test, rigid‑flex PCB or harness design, supplier coordination, production support, or automated electrical test.
• Experience performing worst‑case circuit analysis, electrical parts stress analysis, failure modes and effects analysis, or reliability analysis for high‑consequence hardware.

Please apply by 11/29/2026 for consideration.

In compliance with the Colorado Job Application Fairness Act, in any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age‑identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of school attendance or graduation. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information.