Staff Electric Propulsion Engineer: Hall Thrusters Expert

Apex; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 226,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity/Stock options

Company-paid healthcare

PTO & holidays

401(k) matching

Parental leave

Job summary

Apex Technology, Inc. in Playa Vista is seeking a Staff Electric Propulsion Engineer specializing in Hall-thrusts to own the end-to-end development from plasma physics through flight qualification and high-rate production.

You will lead tests, performance modeling, and life-cycle analysis, mentor engineers, define technical roadmaps, and collaborate with systems and power teams to enable scalable spaceflight propulsion.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, plasma/propulsion engineering, applied physics, or a related field.
• 10+ years of electric propulsion experience with a Bachelor's or Master's degree, OR a Ph.D. with 3+ years of relevant industry experience focused on Hall-effect thruster design, development, and testing.
• Deep, hands-on knowledge of Hall thruster physics and design, including discharge channel design, magnetic circuit layout, anode/gas distribution, and thermal management.
• Experience planning and executing Hall thruster/EP test campaigns in vacuum facilities with diagnostics and long-duration testing.
• US Person per ITAR requirements.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end Hall-effect thruster design, including discharge channel geometry, magnetic circuit, anode/gas distributor, and packaging.
• Lead plasma physics and performance modeling for ionization, acceleration, magnetic topology, efficiency, thrust-to-power, and specific impulse.
• Define and execute thruster test and life-qualification campaigns, including plume and thermal testing.
• Establish erosion and life models, ensure mission life and propulsion budgets compliance.
• Drive cathode-thruster coupling and overall EP system integration with PPU and propellant feed systems.
• Select materials and processes and qualify them for spaceflight and high-rate production.
• Optimize thruster designs for performance, mass, cost, manufacturability; develop work instructions and production flows.
• Collaborate with systems, power electronics, thermal, structures, and avionics teams to define interfaces and verify requirements.
• Support build, integration, and test of flight hardware and launch campaigns; evaluate on-orbit performance and resolve anomalies.
• Lead failure analysis and continuous design improvements; mentor propulsion engineers.

Skills

Electrical propulsion

Hall thruster design

Plasma physics

Test campaigns

Leadership

Mentoring

Requirements decomposition

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace or related field

PhD in electric propulsion or related field

Tools

Vacuum test facilities

Diagnostics instruments

Thermal modeling tools

Job description

Apex Technology, Inc. in Playa Vista is seeking a Staff Electric Propulsion Engineer specializing in Hall-thrusts to own the end-to-end development from plasma physics through flight qualification and high-rate production.

You will lead tests, performance modeling, and life-cycle analysis, mentor engineers, define technical roadmaps, and collaborate with systems and power teams to enable scalable spaceflight propulsion.