Senior Electrical Engineer - Space

About Vector Atomic:

Vector Atomic, an IonQ company, is building quantum technology to transform navigation, timing, geophysical exploration, and telecommunications. Our team of engineers, scientists, software developers, and operations professionals works together to solve complex challenges and turn bold ideas into real-world solutions. We value collaboration, curiosity, and diverse perspectives, and we give every team member the opportunity to make an immediate impact while growing their skills. If you’re excited to work on breakthrough technology in a fast-paced, hands-on environment, we’d love to hear from you.

Location: This role is based onsite at our office in Pleasanton, CA.

Travel: Up to 5%, domestic or international.

Job ID: 1688

The Role:

We're looking for a Senior Electrical Engineer to join a multidisciplinary team of physicists and electrical, mechanical, software, and optical engineers designing next-generation quantum sensors for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) missions.

This is a newly created, high-impact role central to our space sensor programs. You'll lead the design of advanced electronics, specifying, designing, characterizing, and testing PCB assemblies with FPGA, MCU, mixed-signal, and RF architectures, built to meet the demanding reliability and environmental requirements of spaceflight.

You'll join a growing electronics team of engineers, reporting to our Engineering Director, with close daily collaboration across firmware, RTL, mechanical, and optical disciplines. This is an individual-contributor role with significant technical ownership and visibility into every stage of hardware development, from concept through on-orbit deployment.

Responsibilities:

• Lead high-level electrical architecture for next-generation quantum sensors, balancing size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C).
• Own end-to-end PCB development: requirements definition, schematic design, layout, fabrication coordination, and performance verification.
• Translate system-level requirements into detailed electronic designs in collaboration with physicists, and mechanical, software, and optical engineers.
• Design and adapt circuits for reliable operation in the LEO radiation and thermal environment.
• Partner with firmware and RTL engineers on radiation-tolerant techniques (error detection/correction, bit scrubbing, recovery methods).
• Support system integration, test, and troubleshooting to ensure instrument-level requirements are met.
• Build environmental test plans simulating LEO conditions; estimate FIT rates and electronics lifetime against mission parameters.
• Characterize and validate designs using standard lab test and measurement equipment.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering (or related field) with 6+ years of experience, or a Master's degree with 3+ years.
• 3+ years designing electronics for space applications (LEO preferred).
• Experience with power, analog, and mixed-signal circuit design for satellite or other flight systems.
• Working knowledge of radiation effects (TID, SEE) and common mitigation strategies.
• Experience selecting or qualifying components for radiation performance, including COTS parts.
• Solid grounding in high-speed PCB design practices: controlled impedance, length matching, grounding, decoupling, shielding.
• Comfortable in a lab environment, using oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, VNAs, power supplies, and related test equipment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; ability to work cross-functionally with hardware, firmware, and physics teams.
• To comply with the US export control laws, Vector Atomic employees must be U.S. citizens (born or naturalized), lawful U.S. permanent residents (i.e. green card holders), and certain categories of refugees, and asylees.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with space-qualified microprocessors or FPGA families.
• Exposure to FPGA RTL or radiation-mitigation algorithms (TMR, SEU handling).
• Familiarity with digital signal processing and FPGA implementation constraints.
• Circuit simulation experience (e.g., LTSpice).
• Experience in AS9100-compliant environments

Benefits will be provided by Vector Atomic, an IonQ Company, and will differ from the benefits listed on the IonQ website.

Benefits:

Vector Atomic values teamwork, open and honest discourse, and work-life balance. We offer competitive compensation and benefits including:

• Platinum-level family health coverage (medical, dental, vision)
• Health and dependent care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Employer 401(k) contributions
• 20 days of paid time off & 11 paid holidays
• Paid parental leave
• Fully stocked kitchen

The approximate base salary range for this position is $142,113 - $186,063 per year. The total compensation package includes base, bonus, equity and benefits. It's atypical to be hired at the top end of this range for the role, as actual pay is based on several factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience