Electrical and Diagnostic Research Engineer Plasma and Electric Space Propulsion

Overview

Electrical and Diagnostic Research Engineer

LOCATION: Mercury Blvd, near Edwards AFB.

Salary Range: $120-150k

JOB STATUS: Full-time

CLEARANCE: Secret

Astrion has an exciting opportunity for an Electrical and Diagnostic Research Engineer for Plasma and Electric Space Propulsion to join our RAPTR contract.

• Minimum of an M.S. or equivalent experience in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a similar field
• Technical expertise in at least one area of: electrical circuits, RF power, plasma generation, plasma sensor development, electrostatic probes for plasma or space electric propulsion systems, sense lines, high-speed electronics, data acquisition systems, radiation‑tolerant components, or pulsed power operation.
• Experience building, testing, operating, and troubleshooting electrical circuits used to provide power, control hardware and instruments, or acquire data signals.
• Experience with LTSpice, PSpice, MATLAB, LabVIEW, National Instruments systems, Python, Arduino, Solid Works, or other related programming languages.
• Ability to work in a team as well as independently with good time management and self‑motivation
• Must be a United States Citizen and be able to obtain a Security Clearance

• PhD or equivalent professional experience (MS and 3+ years) in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related field
• Knowledge of applying diagnostics for custom applications involving plasma devices or charged particle beams, including time‑of‑flight systems, retarding potential analyzers, plasma probes (e.g. Langmuir probes, emissive probes, Faraday cups, ExB probes), or thrust stands
• Strong skills in integrating sensors and performing sensor fusion for real‑time data acquisition applications
• Experience operating experiments or tests involving Hall‑effect thrusters, ionic liquid electrosprays, or other electric propulsion technologies
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills with the ability to interpret and report on complex test data
• Experience designing and building components using conventional machining methods with geometric dimensioning and tolerancing
• Familiarity in radiation‑tolerant electrical components and considerations
• Experience working in or managing teams of scientists, engineers, and technicians and having good interpersonal, reporting, and communication skills (written and verbal) for publications.
• Expertise with Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), LaTeX, or other document generator to prepare technical reports and presentations for leadership and publication.

• Full‑time electrical engineering research position providing engineering support to the Advanced Electric Propulsion Group in the In‑Space Propulsion Branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory, Rocket Propulsion Division (AFRL/RQR).
• Duties will include leading the electrical and controls design and implementation for electric propulsion and diagnostic devices including breakout boxes, filter circuits, high‑voltage boards, and low‑impedance sense lines.
• This position will work with plasma propulsion experts to support thruster and diagnostic testing, flight hardware development, and real‑time telemetry acquisition. Technologies of interest include Hall thrusters, electrosprays, radio frequency thrusters, magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters, pulsed plasma thrusters, and other advanced electric propulsion concepts.