Defense and Space Manufacturing

Electrical Engineer - Digital Hardware

Jacksonville, FLOnsiteFull TimePosted 1 month ago

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Required skills

digital hardware
high-speed PCB
CCA design
mixed-signal
processors
microcontrollers
FPGA/CPLD
memory
DDRx
SRAM

Nice to have

backplane-based architectures
VPX
SpaceVPX
CompactPCI Serial
radiation-tolerant
SpaceWire

Role summary

Star Catcher is seeking an Electrical Engineer - Digital Hardware to develop space-to-space power beaming spacecraft and its orbital power grid. Responsibilities include executing digital hardware and high-speed PCB designs, designing mixed-signal CCAs with processors, FPGAs, and memory, and supporting board layout and integration. The role involves utilizing design and simulation tools, performing timing and SI/PI analysis, and assisting with board bring-up and component selection. The ideal candidate has 5+ years of experience in digital hardware design and PCB layout, with familiarity in FPGA/SoC platforms and SI/PI simulation tools.

Power the future of Space at Star Catcher

Star Catcher is building the first energy grid in space to power the orbital economy.

Today’s spacecraft must generate all of their own power, which caps what they can do and how long they can operate. But what if they could “plug” into a grid, the way buildings do on Earth? Instead of cables and outlets, Star Catcher is building the technology to wirelessly beam energy to spacecraft’s existing solar panels when and where they need it.Be an early member of a team building an entirely new energy infrastructure at scale to power the next frontier.

Star Catcher Industries, Inc., located in Jacksonville, Florida, has an opportunity for an Electrical Engineer - Digital Hardware to support the development of space-to-space power beaming spacecraft and the Star Catcher Network, its orbital power grid.

Key Responsibilities

Execute digital hardware and high-speed PCB designs following the CCA design lifecycle: requirements generation, preliminary design, peer reviews, detailed design, test plan generation, and integration and test.

Design mixed-signal circuit card assemblies (CCAs) incorporating processors, microcontrollers, FPGA/CPLD, and volatile/non-volatile memory (DDRx, SRAM, ROM, Flash).

Support FPGA/SoC board layout, backplane interface implementation, and compute module integration, including high-speed memory interfaces (DDRx) and board technologies such as HDI and back-drilled vias.

Utilize schematic capture, constraint-driven layout, simulation, and timing analysis tools to generate and verify circuit card designs.

Support timing analysis, SI/PI simulation, and worst-case circuit analysis (WCA) for digital hardware designs, including thermal, EMI/EMC, and component derating considerations.

Support board bring-up, debug, and signal/power integrity verification alongside embedded software engineers, using lab instrumentation (oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, signal generators, DC power supplies) to troubleshoot at the component and board level.

Assist with component selection and qualification for digital hardware, including evaluating component tolerances for design margin.

Work independently to generate digital CCA design solutions.

Basic Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

Experience: 5+ years of experience in digital hardware design, FPGA-based systems, or high-speed digital PCB design.

Experience designing with processors, microcontrollers, FPGA/CPLD, and memory devices (DDRx, SRAM, ROM, Flash).

Familiarity with FPGA/SoC platforms and associated design toolchains.

Working knowledge of SI/PI simulation and timing analysis tools (e.g., HyperLynx, Ansys, or equivalent).

Desired Skills

Exposure to backplane-based architectures (e.g., VPX, SpaceVPX, CompactPCI Serial, or similar).

Exposure to radiation-tolerant digital design practices.

Familiarity with spacecraft data bus standards (e.g., SpaceWire, CCSDS).

Experience with Altium Designer or equivalent EDA tools.

Exposure to worst-case circuit analysis (WCA) and part derating practices.

Experience with high-speed memory interface design (DDRx) and board technologies such as HDI or back drilling.

Exposure to high-speed digital or optical interfaces and protocols (e.g., Ethernet, PCIe).

MATLAB, Python, or similar programming experience for analysis or test automation.

Help us deploy and scale space infrastructure that will drive our utilization of space forward! We offer a highly competitive benefits package including access to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) retirement plan, life insurance, and paid parental leave, in addition to other benefits.

Star Catcher is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Star Catcher 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.

All offers of employment at Star Catcher are contingent upon results of a thorough background check and your ability to provide proof of eligibility to work in the US.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

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