Systems​/ Electronics Engineer

Systems / Electronics Engineer – Spacecraft & Optical Payloads

• Denver, Colorado
• Hybrid:
  Office Tuesday–Thursday, remote Monday and Friday
• Spacecraft | Optical Payloads | Satellite Electronics
• U.S. citizenship and active Secret clearance, or ability to obtain one, required

A leading commercial satellite imagery and geospatial intelligence organization is hiring a Systems / Electronics Engineer to support the development of its next-generation Earth observation satellite constellation.

This is a broad systems engineering position with a strong electronics focus. You will work across spacecraft platforms, high-performance optical payloads, laser communications, onboard processing, and the wider systems required to turn satellite data into operational imagery products.

The team owns the complete development lifecycle, including mission and system architecture, requirements, supplier coordination, manufacturing, integration, testing, launch, and initial on-orbit operations.

• Own the technical interface between the imaging payload and spacecraft bus.
• Ensure compatibility and optimize performance across electrical, mechanical, thermal, timing, and data interfaces.
• Lead and support system-level trade studies covering performance, cost, technical risk, and technology insertion.
• Model and evaluate payload power, data-volume, timing, and electrical interactions.
• Develop and maintain electrical Interface Control Documents and other system design documentation.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, commercial hardware, flight-ready components, and new mission concepts.
• Assess the system-level integration feasibility of new electronics and payload technologies.
• Support major technical reviews, including SRR, PDR, and CDR.
• Work with spacecraft, payload, ground, software, and mission teams to ensure system performance and reliability.
• Interpret schematics, block diagrams, and PCB layouts to understand the system-level impact of hardware changes.
• Troubleshoot payload and spacecraft electronics, potentially down to circuit level depending on experience.

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
• At least three years of experience supporting space-based optical remote sensing payloads or comparable complex hardware systems.
• Experience developing and managing interfaces between spacecraft and payload systems.
• Strong understanding of electrical interfaces and cross-functional spacecraft integration.
• Experience developing specifications, requirements, and Interface Control Documents.
• Ability to interpret electrical schematics, system block diagrams, and PCB layouts.
• Experience assessing the broader system implications of component-level or circuit-level design changes.
• Working knowledge of MATLAB and Python, with the ability to quickly learn additional engineering tools.
• Familiarity with modern electronics technologies, including FPGAs, processors, memory, and data-storage devices.
• Experience working across payload, spacecraft, software, ground, and operational teams.
• Strong technical communication and multidisciplinary collaboration skills.

• Master’s degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• Electrical systems engineering experience on spacecraft or other space platforms.
• Radiation-effects analysis, parts derating, component qualification, or radiation-tolerant electronics.
• Optical imaging payloads, including visible, multispectral, or hyperspectral systems.
• Understanding of imaging performance metrics such as signal-to-noise ratio and modulation transfer function.
• STK, SPICE, HFSS, signal-integrity tools, or power-integrity analysis software.
• Laser communications or high-rate spacecraft data systems.
• Fault management, redundancy architectures, and reliability engineering for long-duration missions.
• Familiarity with NASA, JPL, ECSS, MIL-STD-1547, IPC, or comparable space-industry standards.
• Experience supporting spacecraft manufacturing, integration, environmental testing, launch, or early on-orbit operations.

This is an opportunity to work on highly integrated satellite systems where electronics, payload performance, spacecraft design, and mission capability are closely connected.

The successful engineer will combine strong systems thinking with practical electronics knowledge and will be comfortable moving between high-level architecture, interface definition, detailed hardware analysis, and hands-on troubleshooting.