Sr. Radiation Effects Engineer

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

SR. RADIATION EFFECTS ENGINEER

As a member of our fast-paced Radiation Effects team, you will be responsible for ensuring avionics hardware performance across our fleet of vehicles (Dragon, Falcon, Starship, Lunar Human Landing System, etc.) through some of the harshest and varied radiation environments imaginable. In order to ensure maximum reliability in an ionizing radiation environment, the Radiation team at SpaceX performs exhaustive analysis, design, and test at the component, board, unit, and subsystem levels with extensive opportunity to interact with a vast array of rocket and spacecraft hardware and electronics. As one of the few teams required to interface with the design, manufacturing, integration, and mission operations teams, we play a critical role in the development of our systems as we advance our efforts towards broadband satellite internet and safe, reliable, inexpensive, and innovative access to space. This work all supports our fundamental goal of expanding human space exploration capabilities and establishing a permanent human presence on the moon and Mars.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Perform circuit, sub-system, and system level engineering and risk assessment due to ionizing radiation effects
• Establish applicable ionizing radiation requirements
• Predict environmental stresses to vehicles flown in ionizing radiation environments
• Conduct analysis and presentations for project mission managers, guidance navigation and control teams, and payload customers
• Work closely with responsible engineers, manufacturing engineers, and production test labs to ensure a testable product is being developed
• Work with circuit design, electronics manufacturing, and software implementation to analyze and improve test coverage
• Assess design and flight reliability based on system design and predicted radiation response
• Make recommendations for design, process improvements, and data collection
• Perform root-cause analysis of test failures and communicate recommended actions
• Define and implement project plans, manage milestones, and hold reviews to assure reliability of projects plan
• Write verification test plans, test procedures, and test reports against product requirements
• Comply with all radiation regulatory requirements for radiation safety

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or physics
• 5+ years of professional experience in the radiation effects field

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Master's degree or PhD in electrical engineering, particle physics, nuclear physics, or astrophysics
• Previous work experience in radiation effects including modeling, testing, and/or analysis
• Experience in using one or more radiation computational simulation tools (eg. GEANT4, MCNPX, NOVICE, SpaceRad, FASTRAD or CRÈME)
• Knowledge of the effects of UV and atomic oxygen on materials and components
• Experience in analysis, control, and mitigation for spacecraft charging
• Experience with meteoroid/orbital debris, electron/proton/x-ray transport, and atomic oxygen calculations
• Strong mathematics and statistics knowledge base
• Computational experience in programming languages including Python, Matlab, C/C++, and SQL
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Proficiency with avionics hardware spanning integrated circuits, PCBA boards, sensors/transducers, functional troubleshooting, and defect detection
• Proficiency with hardware blueprints/schematics and circuit functions based on designs
• Superior organizational and analytical skills with keen attention to detail and quality
• Radiation dose safety training  

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Extended hours and weekend work may be required to support critical project and mission milestones

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS:

Pay range:
Radiation Effects Engineer /Senior: $130,000.00 - $200,000.00/per year

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, and experience.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package at SpaceX. You may also be eligible for long-term incentives, in the form of company stock, stock options, or long-term cash awards, as well as potential discretionary bonuses and the ability to purchase additional stock at a discount through an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You will also receive access to comprehensive medical, vision, and dental coverage, access to a 401(k) retirement plan, short & long-term disability insurance, life insurance, paid parental leave, and various other discounts and perks. You may also accrue 3 weeks of paid vacation & will be eligible for 10 or more paid holidays per year. Exempt employees are eligible for 5 days of sick leave per year.

ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR here.  

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should notify the Human Resources Department at (310) 363-6000.