Staff Electric Propulsion Engineer — Cathode Lead & Production

Telemetry Today LLC; Northern, Los Angeles (KY, CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Shared equity in Apex

100% company-paid healthcare

PTO starting at 15 days

401(k) with matching

Parental leave and childcare support

Daily catered lunch

Office in Playa Vista

Impactful aerospace work

Job summary

Apex Technology, Inc. seeks a Staff Electric Propulsion Engineer with deep cathode expertise to own design, development, and production of cathode tech for electric propulsion systems. Senior IC role with roadmap ownership and mentorship for propulsion engineers.

You will drive test campaigns, model cathode behavior, and partner with cross-functional teams to ensure production-ready cathode solutions for spaceflight.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or PhD with strong focus on cathode design and testing.
• Experience planning cathode/EP test campaigns in vacuum facilities.
• Ability to decompose requirements and communicate across engineering disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end hollow and heaterless cathode design for EP systems.
• Develop physics-based and empirical models to predict cathode performance and life.
• Define and execute cathode test and life-qualification campaigns in vacuum facilities.
• Drive cathode-thruster integration and optimize coupling for system performance.
• Lead failure analysis and design-for-manufacturing improvements.

Skills

Cathode design

Electric propulsion

Cathode testing

Thermal-mechanical design

VP/leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace/mechanical/electrical or related field

PhD in electric propulsion, plasma physics or related field with 5+ years experience

Job description

Apex Technology, Inc. seeks a Staff Electric Propulsion Engineer with deep cathode expertise to own design, development, and production of cathode tech for electric propulsion systems. Senior IC role with roadmap ownership and mentorship for propulsion engineers.

You will drive test campaigns, model cathode behavior, and partner with cross-functional teams to ensure production-ready cathode solutions for spaceflight.