Staff Spacecraft Platform Engineer

ArcTern Ventures; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 202,000 - 223,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grant

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401k retirement plan

Paid vacation and holidays

Parental leave

Job summary

Muon Space in Silicon Valley is seeking a Staff Spacecraft Platform Engineer to own the spacecraft bus architecture and drive platform trades across mechanical, electrical, solar/power, thermal, avionics, and software. The role requires on-site presence in our San Jose, CA office three days per week.

You will mentor engineers, set platform-engineering standards, and help grow the platform team while partnering to align platform architecture with product roadmaps and customer missions.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in spacecraft or complex-system engineering with platform ownership.
• Broad understanding of spacecraft subsystems with deep expertise in at least one area.
• Ownership and delivery of subsystems from requirements through launch/flight operations.

Responsibilities

• Own spacecraft platform architecture and evolution across the mission portfolio.
• Collaborate with BD, Product, and Engineering to align with roadmaps and missions.
• Lead cross-disciplinary system trades and platform requirements development.

Skills

Spacecraft architecture ownership

Systems engineering

Cross-functional leadership

V&V experience

Requirements ownership

Mass/Power/Thermal trade-offs

Technical leadership

Education

B.S. in Aerospace/Mechanical/Electrical or related

Job description

About the role

Muon Space is hiring a Staff Spacecraft Platform Engineer to be a senior technical owner of our spacecraft bus — the reusable architecture behind every Muon mission. You'll own platform-level architecture and requirements, drive trades across mechanical, electrical, solar/power, thermal, and avionics, and keep the platform scaling cleanly as the mission portfolio grows.

This position is hybrid and requires working on-site in our San Jose, CA office three days per week.

Responsibilities

• Own spacecraft platform architecture and its evolution across the mission portfolio.
• Partner with BD, Product, and Engineering to ensure platform architectures align with product roadmaps and near-term customer missions
• Lead cross-disciplinary system trades (mass, power, thermal, data, cost) and platform requirements development and flow-down.
• Understand the architecture levers that map the spacecraft HW architecture to system / mission performance.
• Serve as the technical authority bridging mechanical, electrical, avionics, thermal, and software.
• Drive reuse, modularity, and standardization so new missions configure quickly and reliably.
• Set platform-engineering standards and lead platform-level design reviews, resolving cross-subsystem interface issues.
• Mentor engineers, raise the technical bar, and help hire and grow the platform team.

Required Qualifications

• 10+ years in spacecraft or complex-system engineering, including system- or platform-level ownership.
• Broad understanding of spacecraft subsystems (structures, power, solar / deployables, mechanisms, avionics, thermal, GNC, comms), with deep technical knowledge / expertise in at least one spacecraft subsystem.
• Ownership and delivery of spacecraft subsystems from requirements through design reviews, qualification, V&V, and launch / flight operations.
• Track record leading system trades and requirements across multiple programs or product generations.
• Strong systems-engineering mindset and fundamentals: budgets, interfaces / ICDs, V&V.
• Strong technical leadership and cross-functional communication.
• B.S. or higher in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, or a related engineering field.

Nice-to-have

• Flight heritage — platforms you architect that have successful on orbit flight heritage.
• Experience with LEO smallsat / ESPA-class platforms.
• Experience defining a reusable product platform at a scaling space company.

Salary

The salary range for this role is $202,000 - $223,000, plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process.

About Muon Space

Founded in 2021, Muon Space is an end-to-end Space Systems Provider that designs, builds, and operates LEO satellite constellations delivering mission-critical data. Our revolutionary, integrated technology stack enables customers to optimize every dimension of their missions for faster time-to-orbit and superior constellation remote sensing performance. Our state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Silicon Valley is optimized for manufacturing spacecraft and rapid, flexible payload integration at scale. From climate monitoring to national security, Muon Space is dedicated to delivering Earth Intelligence for a safer and more resilient world.

Taking Care of Our Team

At Muon salary is only part of our total compensation package. In addition to salary, full-time employees receive equity compensation as well as benefits including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401k retirement plan, short & long term disability and life insurance. We also offer three weeks paid vacation for new employees, along with 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time and paid parental leave.

• equity compensation
• medical, dental, and vision insurance
• a 401k retirement plan
• short & long term disability
• life insurance
• three weeks paid vacation for new employees
• 12 paid holidays
• unlimited sick time
• paid parental leave

ITAR/EAR Requirements

This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.