Electrical Test and Development Engineer

A New Paradigm For Space Operations.   Who We Are:   Space Kinetic is a dual use space technology startup building a completely new architecture for space operations – one that brings the advantages of proliferated drone technology (low-cost, operationally flexible, attainable, distributed) to space missions while reducing the ecosystem's reliance on consumable fuel. In a world where many companies are focused on incrementally improving the status quo,  we are focused on creating something entirely different – an architecture underpinned by new first principles to meet the opportunities and challenges of the third space age head-on.  Our goal is to move away from one-to-one space architectures – where each satellite in a constellation has one (or a small # of) primary payloads attached to the bus -- and unlock a ‘one-to-many’ system, where each satellite has a large number of payloads which can be deployed from their host spacecraft at high velocities without firing a thruster. This is not a role for someone looking for a traditional 40-hour work week. Space Kinetic is building ambitious, first-of-its-kind technology, and that requires urgency, ownership, and a high level of commitment to changing the foundational assumptions for everything we do in space. What You’ll Do:   As an Electrical  Test &  Development Engineer ,  you will bring to life the electronic  circuit cards  that make the future possible.  You will work closely with the electrical engineering team, as well as mechanical, software, systems, manufacturing, and test engineers, to help  validate  hardware and drive designs from  prototype  through integrated system testing.   Support bring-up, testing, debugging, and validation of circuit cards, electronics assemblies, and functional electrical hardware developed by the electrical engineering team.   Develop and execute electrical test plans, test procedures, and verification activities for boards, subsystems, and integrated hardware.   Troubleshoot electrical hardware issues in laboratory and test environments using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters, power supplies, electronic loads, and other standard test equipment.   Support design validation, performance testing, failure analysis, root cause investigations, and corrective action activities.   Work closely with design engineers to identify board-level issues, recommend design improvements, and support rapid hardware iterations.   Assist with test fixture design, test equipment setup, data collection, and documentation of test results.   Support integration of electronics hardware with sensors, actuators, embedded processors, communication interfaces, controllers, and software systems.   Read and interpret schematics, PCB layouts, electrical drawings, interface control documents, test procedures, and bills of materials.   Support environmental and qualification testing, including vibration, shock, thermal, thermal cycling, EMI/EMC, and system-level test campaigns.   Support spacecraft electrical integration activities, including subsystem-level and system-level functional testing.   Assist with wire harness development, including harness design support, fabrication, assembly, routing, labeling, continuity checks, and integration.   Work with internal teams to support in-house development, creation, and build out of wire harnesses and related electrical assemblies.   Support design for test, design for manufacturability, prototype builds, supplier coordination, and transition from development hardware to repeatable production.   Drive hands-on testing and development in a fast-paced environment where hardware is designed, built, tested, and improved quickly.   What It Takes:   Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related engineering discipline.   3+ years of professional electrical engineering experience.   Experience testing, debugging, and validating electrical hardware for spacecraft, satellites, aerospace, defense, or other high-reliability applications.   Experience working on spacecraft hardware or spacecraft electrical systems.   Experience with flight systems, flight electronics, avionics, or other mission-critical electrical hardware.   Strong understanding of analog and digital circuit fundamentals.   Experience reading and interpreting schematics, PCB layouts, electrical drawings, interface control documents, test procedures, and bills of materials.   Hands-on experience troubleshooting electrical hardware using oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, multimeters, power supplies, electronic loads, and other standard lab equipment.   Experience developing and executing electrical test procedures for boards, subsystems, or integrated hardware.   Basic familiarity with schematic capture and PCB design tools, including Altium Designer.   Experience supporting hardware bring-up, debugging, validation, and failure analysis.   Ability to work closely with design engineers to identify issues, document findings, and drive problems to closure.   Strong engineering fundamentals and ability to make sound technical judgments in hands-on test environments.   What we'd Love: Experience testing or developing electronics for spacecraft, satellites, launch vehicles, missile systems, aircraft, defense systems, or other mission-critical hardware.   Experience with flight-qualified or flight-intent hardware development.   Experience supporting board-level bring-up for analog, digital, mixed-signal, power electronics, embedded systems, sensor interfaces, or motor control hardware.   Experience with communication protocols such as CAN, Ethernet, RS-422, RS-485, SPI, I2C, and UART.   Experience developing test fixtures, harnesses, breakout boards, automated test setups, or other lab infrastructure.   Experience with wire harness design, fabrication, routing, connector selection, crimpi