Electrical Engineer (EPS), Spacecraft

About the role

Katalyst builds robotic spacecraft that enable dynamic space operations, focusing on foundational capabilities for sustained, responsive space activities. This role involves contributing to the design, iteration, and qualification of the spacecraft's Electrical Power System (EPS).

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the design, iteration, and qualification of Katalyst’s spacecraft EPS, including power conversion, power distribution, battery interface electronics, solar array interfaces, protection circuitry, and subsystem power interfaces.
• Design, modify, and review schematics, PCB layouts, interface definitions, and analysis packages for spacecraft power electronics, with emphasis on switch-mode power supplies, DC/DC converters, load switching, current sensing, fault protection, and EMI-aware layout practices.
• Support integrated operation of EPS hardware during functional, performance, and qualification testing, working directly with test engineers to execute bench, thermal vacuum, vibration, and other qualification test campaigns.
• Help own integrated functional testing of EPS hardware with avionics, flight software, mechanisms, payloads, and other spacecraft subsystems, ensuring power interfaces behave correctly across nominal, off-nominal, and fault cases.
• Plan and execute targeted stress, margin, and performance testing, exercising hardware across design extremes such as input voltage range, load transients, thermal limits, startup sequencing, fault response, and converter stability.
• Help define design changes and architecture improvements for future spacecraft power systems, including EPS feature upgrades, power budget impacts, redundancy considerations, telemetry needs, and mission-specific power requirements.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or equivalent field.
• 3+ years of experience designing, testing, or integrating power electronics, spacecraft EPS hardware, battery/solar power interfaces, or closely related high-reliability power systems.
• Strong understanding of switch-mode power supply design, DC/DC converter architectures, compensation/stability, magnetics selection, protection circuitry, and practical power electronics debugging.
• Experience designing or modifying schematics and PCB layouts for power electronics, including high-current routing, grounding, thermal considerations, creepage/clearance, current sensing, and EMI/EMC-aware layout practices.
• Proficiency in Altium or a similar ECAD tool for schematic capture, PCB layout review, design release, and documentation.
• Exposure to spacecraft or embedded-system power architectures, including power distribution, load switching, battery management interfaces, solar array regulation, or power telemetry.
• Exposure to common digital communication standards (SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, Ethernet) and mixed-signal design best practices for telemetry, control, and power-system interfaces.
• Hands-on experience with hardware bring-up, bench testing, and debugging using oscilloscopes, electronic loads, power supplies, DMMs, logic analyzers, and related lab equipment.
• Experience integrating power electronics with other spacecraft or embedded subsystems; exposure to environmental testing such as thermal vacuum or vibration is a plus but not required.

Qualifications

• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed.

Skills

• Strong technical skills in power electronics design and testing.
• Experience with spacecraft or embedded system power architectures.
• Proficiency in ECAD tools like Altium.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.

Benefits

• Compensation and Benefits: Your base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience. The anticipated salary range for this role is $105,000 - $145,000 annually.
• Long-term incentives: Employee Stock Option and Equity Plan.
• Relocation bonus and other discretionary bonuses.
• Comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage.
• Unlimited Paid Time Off.

Pay

Your base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience. The anticipated salary range for this role is $105,000 - $145,000 annually.

Schedule

Compensation and Benefits: Your base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience. The anticipated salary range for this role is $105,000 - $145,000 annually.