Principal Component Engineer

Cesium Astro is a developer and pioneer of out‑of‑the‑box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross‑functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands‑on, interactive, and autonomous work, Cesium Astro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward‑thinking individuals to join our team.

Please Note: To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Principal Component Engineer I

In this position, you will be a key member of our product development team, leading the parts and component selection, qualification, failure root‑cause analysis, standardization, vendor evaluations, and performance verification efforts. The ideal candidate is experienced in EEE components engineering for commercial space applications.

• Act as Cesium Astro’s technical representative with customers to define testing and qualification requirements for all EEE parts.
• Work all aspects of high‑reliability EEE parts selection, standardization, qualification, and performance verification on a growing team.
• Develop a roadmap for state‑of‑the‑art components, working with the engineering design team for an effective product upgrade strategy while balancing cost and schedule.
• Provide EEE part expertise and support on aerospace programs, reviewing customer documents and aligning their needs with the company’s product lines.
• Evaluate components for compliance to industry requirements such EEE‑INST‑002, AEC, TOR, JEDEC, and others.
• Author parts plans and process definition documents for internal and external use.
• Write and review Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) to component‑level procurement and test control documents.
• Develop process improvements for streamlined component‑level ECOs review and adjudication.
• Experience building relationships with space part suppliers.
• Review screening and test data received from manufacturers and test laboratories for compliance to specifications, purchase order requirements, and program contracts.
• Interface internally with design engineers, reliability engineers, and quality engineers in support of risk mitigation and product development review efforts.
• Prepare Non‑Standard Parts Approval Requests (NSPARs) and Source Control Drawings (SCDs).
• Perform bill‑of‑materials cost analysis, components research and obsolescence mitigation, and supplier audits.

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering or a related discipline.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant prior experience as a component engineer.
• Knowledge of component selection, qualification, screening and derating for military and aerospace.
• Familiar with management of new part requests, part objects, and part attributes in a Product Lifecycle Management System.
• Direct experience with parts plans for high‑volume satellite constellations, evaluating parts screening and qualification in the context of high‑volume constellation performance.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong desire to change an industry and disrupt incumbent players.
• Sense of urgency, with the ability to work independently under agile development timelines.
• Willingness to learn and work in both a support capacity and as a lead on differing functions.

• Demonstrated technical leadership in component engineering by mentoring junior component engineers and educating designers within your area of expertise.
• Participate in failure analysis investigations of defective components and author failure analysis reports as required.
• Knowledge and working familiarity with key reliability analyses for space mission hardware (prediction, derating, FMECA, WCA).
• Experience with…