Electrical Hardware Design Engineer

Job Description

Job Title: Staff Electrical Hardware Design Engineer. Location: Louisville, Colorado, United States

Job Type: Full-Time, Senior Level (Staff Engineer)

Responsibilities:

• Own full-cycle electrical hardware design for space-grade PCBA systems, from concept through flight readiness.
• Develop analog and digital electronic designs for mission-critical systems operating under extreme environmental constraints.
• Lead schematic design, PCB layout, bring-up, testing, and manufacturing handoff;
• Drive board-level debugging and system integration, including firmware, FPGA, and embedded software coordination.
• Define test plans and verification strategies to ensure flight qualification standards.
• Conduct and lead cross-disciplinary design reviews across RF, mechanical, software, FPGA, and systems teams.
• Collaborate with manufacturing teams to transition prototypes into low-volume production.
• Interface with external vendors and contract manufacturers to ensure design-for-manufacturing and design-for-test compliance.
• Perform failure analysis and root-cause investigations for hardware anomalies;
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to internal engineering process improvements.
• Provide technical input on system architecture, scheduling, and design trade-offs.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or related field (Master’s preferred).
• 8+ years of experience in PCB design and hardware debugging.
• Strong experience with ECAD tools such as Altium Designer or equivalent;
• Hands-on experience with lab instruments including oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and power analyzers.
• Solid understanding of high-speed digital interfaces such as I2C, SPI, UART, CAN, USB, PCIe, and Ethernet.
• Experience with board bring-up, test planning, and validation workflows.
• Strong documentation, communication, and organizational skills.
• U.S. export control eligibility required (U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or authorized status).

Preferred:

• Experience designing electronics for harsh environments such as vacuum, radiation, vibration, or extreme temperatures.
• Familiarity with radiation effects and mitigation strategies in electronic systems.
• Knowledge of EMI and EMC design practices.
• Exposure to satellite systems engineering including power systems, GNSS, ADCS, and space robotics.
• Basic scripting or automation experience using Python or C for hardware testing.
• Experience with high-speed or impedance-controlled PCB design.

Benefits and Compensation:

• Salary range: $145,920 to $191,047 annually, depending on experience and qualifications.
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer matching;
• Unlimited paid time off and paid holidays.
• Parental and adoption leave, legal insurance, and home technology stipend.
• Access to professional development opportunities and technical training resources.

Other Information:

• Travel requirement: up to 10% domestic or international.
• Work location: Onsite in Louisville, Colorado.
• Strong focus on collaboration across RF, software, FPGA, mechanical, and systems engineering teams.
• Candidates must meet U.S. export control requirements for eligibility;
• IonQ and Capella value diversity, inclusion, and equal opportunity hiring practices.