Electrical Engineer

LeoLabs is the world’s leading commercial provider of low Earth orbit (LEO) mapping and Space Domain Awareness (SDA) services. LeoLabs was founded in 2016 as a venture-funded spinout of Silicon Valley research pioneer, SRI International, by scientists and space industry veterans committed to securing Low Earth Orbit (LEO). LeoLabs is built on 30+ years of R&D in radar systems and satellite tracking algorithms. The team is rapidly expanding its global radar network and data services platform to help satellite operators deploy their services safely and to empower governmental space agencies with detailed visibility into the LEO ecosystem. As commercial space ventures and newly-formed space agencies from every corner of the globe compete for their place in the second space race, LeoLabs is here to address a new generation of risks and opportunities to preserve LEO for future generations.

LeoLabs is hiring an Electrical Engineer to focus on the hardware reliability of our radar systems. As LeoLabs’ foundational differentiator, our radars generate the measurements feeding our data and analytical service offerings.

In this role you will take ownership of improving the performance and predictability of our existing and future radar hardware.

It is expected in this role you will grow to fully comprehend the intricacies of our high mix, low volume of RF electronics, and will use that knowledgebase to not just improve the quality of our existing systems, but help us improve on new system designs as well.

You will be responsible for proactively conducting root cause and failure analyses. You will integrate improvements into new revisions of our hardware taking into account complexity, safety, cost, and reliabilty among other metrics - to continuously improve production and operational product quality and reliability.

Hardening our hardware systems is key to expanding LeoLabs’ service offerings.

You will join the Radar Team, which manages every aspect of our radar lifecycle, from system architecture and digital signal processing to construction, supply chain management, and operations of our global network of radars.

This team works long hours – which is what has propelling us to design, build, and operate 10 radars across 4 continents in less than 4 years. We move fast and have fun doing it.

In this role, you will act as a central link between our Hardware Engineering, Radar Operations, Manufacturing, and Global Infrastructure teams.

You will be a contributing member of the Hardware Engineering team and will report to our Senior RF Engineer. This is expected to be an in-person position based at our Headquarters in Menlo Park, CA.

• Lead projects to improve radar hardware reliability and manufacturing quality

• Independently research solutions, troubleshoot, and resolve complex problems by analyzing product data

• Analyze schematics, PCB designs, lab results, and test & operation data to root cause hardware failure modes in the factory and in the field

• Coordinate with our operations team to gather telemetry needed to perform remote root cause analysis

• Coordinate with our global infrastructure team to retrieve hardware from the field and implement fixes to our systems

• Take preventative action with hardware design recommendations, improvements, and process adjustments

• Develop & execute test plans for completed radar transceiver units and RF modules prior to field deployment

• Develop technical sketches to communicate design concepts

• Perform tolerance studies as part of root cause analysis

• Maintain close communication with the Radar Operations, Manufacturing, and Global Infrastructure teams to resolve and prevent hardware issues

• Travel by road may be required. Other types of travel, including international, may be required.

• Heavy lifting & moving of electronics equipment and material in excess of 60 lbs may be required

• B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or similar

• 5+ years industry experience testing, troubleshooting, or designing electrical systems

• Proficiency with electronics lab equipment such as oscilloscopes, power supplies, digital multimeters, and soldering equipment

• Proficiency in schematic capture and layout using Altium Designer

• Proficiency with digital and analog circuits, DC/DC voltage regulators, embedded processors, and FPGAs

• Strong debug and failure analysis skills from system to component level

• Understand operation of communication interfaces such as CAN, I2C, SPI, Ethernet

• Experience with C/C++, Python, and Unix systems

• Experience developing and executing test plans

• Experience with Solidworks or other 3D CAD modelling

• Experience conducting MTBF analysis

• Familiarity with RF electronics and lab equipment

• Must be results oriented and highly self-motivated

• Must possess the ability to work with little supervision, and be a committed team player

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Impeccable record keeping skills, including use of issue tracking software such as JIRA

• Demonstrated professional knowledge of engineering principles

• Problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity skills are essential

• Quick comprehension skills and solid analytical intelligence

• Complete our onboarding program designed to get you up to speed on our business, vision, and team

• Gain an understanding about how your role fits into LeoLabs’ broader organization

• Begin to understand the scope of our radar systems and take up a few high priority projects

• Be deeply involved with the development of key features on new and existing radar systems

• Learn the technical intricacies of our different system types, their relative strengths, and begin to diagnose the highest net-gain improvements

• Regularly coordinate with teams across the Radar Group to troubleshoot hardware at active radar sites

• Complete and execute a testing and validation plan for a new revision of our radar hardware

• Conduct a reliability risk analysis of all actively deployed radar hardware and existing manufacturing processes, including recommended changes

• Develop and implement a hardware solution for one or more radar reliability problems

• Develop a full-lifecycle radar hardware reliability system

• Be the go-to remote troubleshooting engineer for site hardware issues

• Regularly contribute to new and existing designs with reliability improvements

Salary offers are based on a combination of factors, including, but not limited to, experience, skills, and location. The compensation range for this position $120,000 - 140,000