Principal Electrical Engineer - FlatSat Lead

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.

At Cesium Astro, we are developers and pioneers 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.

We are seeking a Flat Sat Lead  to architect, build, and manage our Flat Sat infrastructure. This role owns the planning, execution, and continuous evolution of a system that mirrors the spacecraft and integrates flight hardware, flight software, ground systems, and GSE into a complete mission representation.

The Flat Sat Lead  will be responsible for technical direction, configuration control, infrastructure development, and cross‑functional coordination to ensure the Flat Sat enables rapid development, risk reduction, and mission success.

Your work will have a direct impact on the success of the company. You will work closely with the engineering team, program management to ensure the successful build and launch of our satellite. Element will be the largest, most powerful rideshare satellite in LEO. We’re launching eight of them in the next four years, starting with our first launch this year.

Together, our small team will design, build, and iterate to reduce mass and cost while increasing performance, reliability, and manufacturability of a new generation of satellites. Let’s build!

• Define the architecture, configuration, and roadmap for the Flat Sat environment
• Develop system‑level integration plans covering flight hardware, avionics, software, and ground interfaces
• Ensure the Flat Sat accurately represents mission configuration and operational scenarios
• Establish infrastructure to support full mission simulations and end‑to‑end testing
• Design and sometimes personally build custom Ground Support Equipment (GSE) and test interfaces
• Oversee mechanical, electrical, and network integration of Flat Sat hardware
• Define power, communications, data handling, and environmental support architecture
• Ensure maintainability, scalability, and reliability of the Flat Sat system
• Plan and execute system integration campaigns
• Coordinate across flight software, hardware, RF, payload, and ground teams
• Enable regression testing, mission rehearsals, anomaly reproduction, and validation testing
• Drive configuration management and documentation discipline
• Establish procedures for safe operations, access control, and hardware handling
• Manage upgrades and configuration changes as flight hardware evolves
• Track risks, integration issues, and system limitations
• Support design reviews, test readiness reviews, and mission readiness reviews

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related field
• 9 years of experience in spacecraft integration, systems engineering, or hardware/software test environments
• Hands‑on experience working with satellite subsystems and avionics
• Strong understanding of spacecraft power, communications, command & data handling, and ground interfaces
• Experience designing or supporting hardware‑in‑the‑loop (HIL) or integration testbeds
• Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics and system diagrams
• Proven ability to operate in fast‑paced, evolving technical environments

• Experience leading integration efforts for small satellite or spacecraft programs
• Experience designing custom GSE
• Familiarity with flat sat or spacecraft system test campaigns, including Hardware‑in‑the‑Loop labs (HIL/HWIL)
• Knowledge of RF and payload…