Space Networking Electronics Engineer II

Ephemeris Net; Oakland (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous equity package

Comprehensive health care coverage

Unlimited PTO

Hybrid work model

Travel opportunities

Job summary

Ephemeris Net is hiring for an electrical engineer to design and build the electronics powering space networking infrastructure, from high-speed digital network interfaces to optical transceivers and spacecraft terminal electronics.

You will contribute to multiple hardware domains, including a ~200 TB space-based data cache, precision pointing optics, and space-qualified transceivers, with a focus on signal integrity, EMI/EMC, and thermal management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of electronics design experience with high-speed digital or analog circuits.
• Experience with PCB design tools (Altium, Cadence, or similar).
• Understanding of signal integrity principles for high-speed digital design.
• Experience with laboratory test equipment (oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, network analyzers).
• Ability to obtain and maintain a US security clearance.
• Experience designing space-qualified or radiation-tolerant electronics.
• Familiarity with Xilinx Versal FPGA line.
• Verilog or VHDL experience for FPGA development.
• Background in optical communication systems or laser electronics.
• Experience with fiber optics and optical interconnects.
• Experience with electrical harnessing and cable design for dynamic motion environments.
• Experience with high-speed serial interfaces (100G+ Ethernet, PCIe Gen4/5).
• Knowledge of motor control systems and closed-loop feedback.
• Understanding of photodiode circuits and transimpedance amplifier design.
• Thermal analysis and simulation experience (ANSYS, Thermal Desktop).
• Familiarity with radiation effects on electronics (SEU, TID).
• Experience with space qualification standards (MIL-STD-883).

Responsibilities

• Design high-speed digital systems with interfaces up to 9.6 Tbps for space-based routing.
• Implement optical interface protocols in space-qualified hardware.
• Ensure signal integrity and EMI/EMC compliance for high-speed differential signaling.
• Design power delivery systems for high-performance networking processors and FPGAs.
• Design storage subsystem electronics for a ~200 TB space-based data cache, including high-speed memory interfaces and storage controller integration.
• Design and develop semi-custom optical transceiver modules for space networking applications.
• Work with optics and photonics vendors to integrate custom requirements into transceiver form factors.
• Characterize and qualify transceiver performance for space environments.
• Design motor control systems for precision pointing and tracking of optical terminals.
• Develop photodiode transimpedance amplifiers for closed loop terminal pointing control.
• Design laser driver circuits for closed loop terminal pointing control.
• Implement closed-loop control systems for beam steering and acquisition.
• Optimize analog front-end performance for low noise and high bandwidth.
• Select commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components appropriate for space environments.
• Collaborate with mechanical team on thermal management solutions for high-power digital electronics in vacuum.
• Support qualification test team in developing test procedures and qualification campaigns.
• Work with fabrication partners to manufacture and assemble flight hardware.
• Support hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) testing and integration activities.
• Define electrical interfaces between network box, optical terminals, and spacecraft bus.
• Design electrical harnessing and cable routing for dynamic motion environments.
• Collaborate with firmware team to ensure hardware-software integration.
• Support mission engineer in spacecraft-level integration and testing.
• Debug and troubleshoot hardware issues during build, integration, and test phases.

Skills

High-speed design

Signal integrity

Lab equipment

Security clearance

PCB design

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Equivalent experience

Tools

Altium

Cadence

Job description

Ephemeris Net is hiring for an electrical engineer to design and build the electronics powering space networking infrastructure, from high-speed digital network interfaces to optical transceivers and spacecraft terminal electronics.

You will contribute to multiple hardware domains, including a ~200 TB space-based data cache, precision pointing optics, and space-qualified transceivers, with a focus on signal integrity, EMI/EMC, and thermal management.