Reliability Engineer - Radiation Hardening

Our client is a rapidly growing, early-stage startup that builds visual intelligence systems for spacecraft - cameras, onboard AI, transmission, and ground software - supporting commercial, civil, and defense missions.

They're looking for a Reliability Engineer to join their Electrical Engineering team and own the radiation hardness and long-term reliability of the electronics that make their missions possible. You'll be embedded with the hardware design team from schematic capture through qualification, making the calls that decide whether a part survives its mission.

• Lead radiation effects analysis on EEE parts and circuit designs - Total Ionizing Dose (TID), Single Event Effects (SEE: upset, latch-up, burnout), and displacement damage
• Drive parts selection and radiation tolerance strategy: rad-hard vs. rad-tolerant vs. COTS-with-mitigation tradeoffs, working within startup budget and schedule realities
• Perform reliability analyses across hardware designs - worst-case analysis, derating analysis, FMEA, and MTBF/FIT rate estimation
• Define and support radiation and environmental test campaigns (proton/heavy-ion/gamma testing, thermal vacuum, vibration) in partnership with test engineering
• Work directly with electrical, optical, and systems engineers to catch reliability and radiation risks early in the design cycle - not after layout is frozen
• Build and maintain parts qualification records, derating reports, and reliability documentation suitable for government contract deliverables (SBIR/STTR/TACFI and related efforts)
• Communicate risk tradeoffs clearly to the broader engineering team and help the company make informed schedule/reliability/cost decisions

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering; advanced degree a plus but not required
• 2-5 years of relevant experience in electronics reliability, radiation effects, or space/defense hardware environments - internships and academic/research work with real hands-on radiation or reliability content count
• Working knowledge of radiation effects on electronics (TID, SEE, displacement damage) and how they inform parts selection and circuit design
• Familiarity with reliability engineering fundamentals: derating, worst-case analysis, FMEA, or MTBF concepts
• Comfort reading schematics and collaborating directly with circuit and PCB designers - you don't need to design the board, but you need to speak the same language as the people who do
• Strong technical writing skills - you'll be producing documentation that supports government contract deliverables
• U.S. Citizenship required (government contract requirement)

• Direct exposure to radiation testing (proton, heavy-ion, gamma, or TID testing) from coursework, internship, national lab, or industry experience
• Experience with COTS-based rad-tolerant design approaches
• Exposure to space, defense, or other harsh-environment electronics (avionics, nuclear, medical implantables) even outside a formal "reliability engineer" title

You'll see your work fly in space. This is a small, venture-backed team - small enough that your radiation and parts decisions directly shape what launches, and early enough that you'll help build the reliability practices the company runs on for years. The compensation package include stock options and unlimited PTO.