Spacecraft Battery Engineer — Concept to Flight

Cowboy Space; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 167,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement savings plan

Paid time off

10 paid holidays per year

Paid parental leave

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. in California seeks a Battery Engineer to own the design, development, integration, and qualification of spacecraft battery systems.

You will take battery systems from concept to flight, collaborating with power electronics, avionics, thermal, mechanical, and software engineers to deliver flight-ready energy storage capable of withstanding space environments. This role emphasizes BMS development, cell balancing, SOC/SOH estimation, and selection of chemistries (NMC/NCA/LFP)

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 3+ years developing battery systems for aerospace, automotive, defense, or other high-reliability applications.
• Experience designing battery packs and energy storage systems, including cell/module/pack architecture and electrical interconnect design.
• Knowledge of lithium-ion battery chemistry (NMC, NCA, LFP), degradation mechanisms, and safety considerations.
• Experience developing or integrating Battery Management Systems (BMS), including cell balancing, SOC/SOH estimation, and fault protection architectures.
• Experience with battery testing, characterization, and validation, including cycle life testing, performance characterization across temperature, and abuse/safety testing.
• Familiarity with battery modeling (equivalent circuit models or electrochemical models), lifecycle analysis, and performance prediction.
• Strong analytical and hands-on hardware debugging skills.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture and development of spacecraft batteries from concept through flight qualification.
• Design battery packs, module architectures, and electrical interconnects to meet mission performance requirements.
• Develop a battery management system (BMS), including cell balancing, SOC/SOH estimation, fault detection, and protection strategies.
• Select battery cell chemistries based on mission requirements and trade-offs.
• Perform battery sizing, capacity analysis, degradation modeling, and DoD management.
• Develop charging/discharging strategies with the spacecraft power team and MPPT considerations.
• Define thermal management requirements and collaborate with thermal engineers for safe operation.
• Lead battery integration, validation, environmental qualification, and acceptance testing.
• Investigate battery performance, reliability, and failure modes through analysis and testing.
• Support manufacturing, supplier selection, DFM/DFT reviews, and production readiness.
• Support spacecraft integration, launch campaigns, and on-orbit battery monitoring.

Skills

Battery design

BMS development

System integration

Hardware debugging

Analytical skills

Battery testing

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

Education

BS/MS/PhD in Electrical/Mechanical/Materials/Chemical Engineering

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

isoSPI daisy-chain

Job description

Cowboy Space Corp. in California seeks a Battery Engineer to own the design, development, integration, and qualification of spacecraft battery systems.

You will take battery systems from concept to flight, collaborating with power electronics, avionics, thermal, mechanical, and software engineers to deliver flight-ready energy storage capable of withstanding space environments. This role emphasizes BMS development, cell balancing, SOC/SOH estimation, and selection of chemistries (NMC/NCA/LFP)