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.
POWER ELECTRONICS ENGINEER, CONSUMER HARDWARE & GATEWAYS (STARLINK)
Starlink believes in providing fast, reliable internet to serve populations with little or no connectivity. We design, build, launch, and operate the world's largest constellation of satellites, enabling us to operate a global internet network unbounded by traditional ground infrastructure limitations. Starlink also designs, builds, and delivers high-volume consumer hardware that allows users to connect to these satellites within minutes of unboxing, as well as the high-power gateway infrastructure we deploy regionally throughout the world. The root of SpaceX’s success so far lies in our mission to keep engineering and production in-house, which enables a tight feedback loop, nimble decision-making, and speedy deliverables. With millions of daily users worldwide already online, Starlink is truly a game-changer and levels the playing field for those who were previously unconnected.
As a Power Electronics Engineer on Starlink in Bastrop, you will own converters and power architecture for hardware that talks to the constellation. This role covers two product classes on the same team; you may focus on one or work across both.
- Gateway / infrastructure: design high-power (multi-kW) AC/DC, DC/DC, and power distribution for outdoor ground-station electronics that must survive heat, cold, lightning, and poor grid quality while staying on-air.
- Consumer / user terminals: design the power path for products we ship by the million (user terminals, routers, accessories). Cost, yield, DFM/DFA, test time, and weeks-not-months iteration matter as much as efficiency. You will be in the factory loop, not only the lab.
Our customers include teachers in the most remote parts of the Amazon, researchers in Antarctica, digital nomads who travel via RV, emergency responders, commercial airlines, cruise lines, and residential users in rural or developing areas. You will own hardware from concept through production ramp and will present design trades to senior leadership.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Design, develop, and test highly reliable power electronics for hardware that communicates with our satellites
- Provide engineering expertise in the design, analysis, and testing of AC/DC and DC-DC converters from watt-class boards through multi-kW racks
- Architect system-level power distribution; lead design trades and development of requirements with RF, thermal, mechanical, test, and firmware
- Own schematic capture, magnetics specification, control-loop design, and layout constraints through prototype bring-up
- Define and perform electrical power system verification: efficiency, thermal, EMC, surge/transient, and reliability
- Work with multidisciplinary teams of design, test, and production engineers to take new power electronics from EVT through production ramp and cost-down
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or other engineering discipline
- 1+ years of experience designing power electronics (converters, magnetics, or power stages); internships or extracurricular experience is applicable
PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:
- Master’s degree in electrical engineering
- 3+ years of experience in power converter development
- Strong understanding of AC/DC and DC-DC topologies, with ability to select optimal architectures and components
- Strong understanding of analog control and discrete logic design
- Strong understanding of design for fault tolerance and reliability
- Experience solving EMC related issues
- Experience in modeling, simulation, and testing of power electronics
- Experience in voltage and current mode control and compensation design
- Experience with AC-DC converters and power factor correction
- Experience with in-lab impedance measurement and loop-gain measurement
- Familiarity with the design of wire-wound and planar inductors and transformers
- Experience with either high-volume consumer power (cost, DFM, NPI) or high-power outdoor/infrastructure supplies
- Experience with power-stage PCB layout (switching loops, grounding, EMI)
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
- Ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission critical deadlines
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 reach out to [email protected].
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or another engineering discipline
- At least 1 year of experience designing power electronics, converters, magnetics, or power stages; internships or extracurricular experience applicable
- Ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission-critical deadlines
- U.S. citizen or national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, asylee, or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations under ITAR
- Master's degree in electrical engineering
- At least 3 years of experience in power converter development
- Strong understanding of AC/DC and DC/DC topologies and component selection
- Strong understanding of analog control and discrete logic design
- Understanding of fault tolerance and reliability design
- Experience solving EMC issues
- Experience modeling, simulating, and testing power electronics
- Experience with voltage-mode and current-mode control and compensation design
- Experience with AC-DC converters and power factor correction
- Experience with in-lab impedance and loop-gain measurements
- Familiarity with wire-wound and planar inductor and transformer design
- Experience with high-volume consumer power or high-power outdoor/infrastructure supplies
- Experience with power-stage PCB layout, switching loops, grounding, and EMI
SpaceX Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about SpaceX and has not been reviewed or approved by SpaceX.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity grants are a core part of total compensation, with periodic company-run tender offers that create liquidity before any public listing. These mechanisms can make the equity component feel materially valuable in practice.
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Healthcare Strength — The package includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, with on-site clinics and health resources at major sites. This breadth of coverage is presented as a strong element of the offering.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Major locations feature on-site amenities such as fitness facilities, food/coffee, clinics, and other conveniences. These lifestyle perks enhance day-to-day value alongside cash and equity.
SpaceX Insights
What We Do
SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches the world’s most advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk to revolutionize space transportation, with the ultimate goal of making life multiplanetary. SpaceX has gained worldwide attention for a series of historic milestones. It is the only private company ever to return a spacecraft from low-Earth orbit, which it first accomplished in December 2010. The company made history again in May 2012 when its Dragon spacecraft attached to the International Space Station, exchanged cargo payloads, and returned safely to Earth — a technically challenging feat previously accomplished only by governments. Since then Dragon has delivered cargo to and from the space station multiple times, providing regular cargo resupply missions for NASA.
