Sr. Hardware Development Engineer, Gateways & Customer Hardware (Starlink)

SpaceX; Bastrop (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

SpaceX in Bastrop, TX is seeking a Sr. Hardware Development Engineer for Gateways & Customer Hardware on Starlink to own the development of high‑reliability electronics shipped to end users.

You will lead the design, bring‑up, and test of hardware across gateways and user terminals, collaborating with silicon, software, mechanical, and manufacturing teams. Responsibilities include end‑to‑end hardware development from concept through production, with emphasis on mixed‑signal boards, processors,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or related discipline.
• 5+ years of professional experience designing circuits, electronic products, or hardware.
• 8+ years of experience designing hardware from concept through production; full life cycle development.
• 8+ years of experience designing hardware with processors, FPGAs, Ethernet, SerDes, DDR4, and analog/digital interfaces.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and test highly reliable electronics for communicating with satellites.
• Partner with software, mechanical, thermal, manufacturing, and production test teams.
• Drive system trades, requirements capture, schematic capture, PCB layout, prototyping, and hardware bring-up.
• Support hardware through production, satellite integration, and flight.
• Collaborate with adjacent disciplines to deliver integrated, high‑performance hardware.
• Develop tools to analyze data from on-orbit and lab tests to improve designs.
• Challenge assumptions and simplify complex problems.

Skills

Python

C/C++

PCB design

Mixed-signal design

FPGAs

Ethernet

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or other engineering discipline

Tools

DDR4

I2C

SPI

Power supply components

Job description

Sr. Hardware Development Engineer, Gateways & Customer Hardware (Starlink)

Bastrop, TX

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

Starlink believes in providing fast, reliable internet to serve populations with little or no connectivity. We design, build, launch, and operate the world's largest constellation of satellites, enabling us to operate a global internet network unbounded by traditional ground infrastructure limitations. Starlink also designs, builds, and delivers high-volume consumer hardware that allows users to connect to these satellites within minutes of unboxing, as well as our advanced gateways that we deploy regionally throughout the world. The root of SpaceX’s success so far lies in our mission to keep all engineering and production in-house, which enables a tight feedback loop, nimble decision-making, and speedy deliverables. With millions of daily users worldwide already online, Starlink is truly a game changer and levels the playing field for those who were previously unconnected.

As a Sr. Hardware Engineer on the Starlink team, you will have complete ownership over the development of millions of customer-facing products and devices that we ship directly to end users (Starlink dishes/user terminals, Wi-Fi routers, etc.). Our customers currently include teachers in the most remote parts of the Amazon, researchers in Antarctica, digital nomads who travel via RV, emergency responders, commercial airlines, cruise lines, and residential users who live in more rural or developing areas. You could also be responsible for the design and performance of next-generation gateways - ultimately ensuring that our ground station antenna hardware can withstand the harshest environmental conditions while maintaining reliable communication with millions of users on a global scale. You will interact regularly partner teams including silicon, software, mechanical, and manufacturing to steer this hardware from initial concept development to full-scale production.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Design, develop, and test highly reliable electronics for communicating with our satellites


• Partner with software, mechanical, thermal, manufacturing, and production test teams


• Drive system trades, requirements capture, component selection, analysis, schematic capture, PCB layout, prototyping, hardware bring-up, debugging, documentation, manufacturing, and test of complex electrical designs


• Get hands-on and support hardware through production, satellite integration, and flight


• Work closely with engineers from adjacent disciplines (mechanical, thermal, software, test engineering, supply chain, silicon design, etc.) to deliver tightly integrated, high-performance hardware


• Drive continual improvements to our designs by building physical and digital tools to analyze data collected on orbit and in the lab


• Challenge assumptions and work to find simple solutions to complex problems

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or other engineering discipline


• 5+ years of professional experience designing circuits, electronic products, or hardware

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• 8+ years of professional experience rapidly designing and delivering highly reliable products


• 8+ years of electronic product experience designing hardware from concept through production; strong emphasis on full life cycle development of new hardware products and not small incremental updates to legacy hardware


• 8+ years of experience designing and implementing mixed-signal circuit boards from concept through production using processors, FPGAs, Ethernet, multi-GHz Serdes, DRAM interfaces (DDR4), I2C, SPI, operational amplifiers, analog to digital and digital to analog converters, and power supply components


• 8+ years of professional experience testing, troubleshooting, and debugging electronics


• Strong understanding of computers and programming languages (Python, C/C++)


• Demonstrated ability to work in a highly cross-functional role

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission critical deadlines


• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affinitive Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to [e-mail].

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in SpaceX’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A \"disabled veteran\" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A \"recently separated veteran\" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran’s discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An \"active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran\" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An \"Armed forces service medal veteran\" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.