Spacecraft Battery Engineer — From 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, vision insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Paid time off

10 paid holidays/year

Paid parental leave

Relocation assistance

Daily lunch in the office

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp in San Carlos, CA is seeking a Battery Engineer to own battery system design, development, and qualification for spacecraft energy storage. You will collaborate with power electronics, avionics, thermal, mechanical, and software teams to deliver flight-ready battery hardware for eclipse periods and peak loads.

The role emphasizes hands-on, end-to-end development from concept to flight, with emphasis on safety, reliability, and space-qualified packaging and testing.

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or related discipline
• 3+ years developing battery systems for aerospace, automotive, defense, or other high-reliability applications
• Experience designing battery packs and energy storage systems
• Knowledge of lithium-ion chemistries (NMC/NCA/LFP) and safety considerations
• Experience with Battery Management Systems (BMS) incl. SOC/SOH estimation
• Experience with battery testing, characterization, and validation across temperature and abuse testing
• Familiarity with MATLAB/Simulink, Python, or equivalent tools for battery modeling

Responsibilities

• Own architecture and development of spacecraft batteries from concept through flight
• Design battery packs, modules, and interconnects to meet mission requirements
• Develop BMS including cell balancing, SOC/SOH estimation, fault protection
• Select cell chemistries based on energy/power trade-offs and environment
• Perform sizing, degradation modeling, and DoD management for cycle life
• Develop charging/discharge strategies with power systems team
• Define thermal management requirements and mitigate thermal runaway
• Lead integration, environmental qualification, and acceptance testing
• Investigate performance, reliability, and root-cause failure
• Support manufacturing, supplier selection, and production readiness
• Support spacecraft integration, launch campaigns, and on-orbit monitoring

Skills

Battery design

BMS development

Spacecraft batteries

Thermal management

Testing & qualification

Vibration/TVAC

Hardware debugging

Education

BS/MS/PhD in EE/ME/Materials/Chemical Eng

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

X-ray/CT inspection

Job description

Cowboy Space Corp in San Carlos, CA is seeking a Battery Engineer to own battery system design, development, and qualification for spacecraft energy storage. You will collaborate with power electronics, avionics, thermal, mechanical, and software teams to deliver flight-ready battery hardware for eclipse periods and peak loads.

The role emphasizes hands-on, end-to-end development from concept to flight, with emphasis on safety, reliability, and space-qualified packaging and testing.