HITL Test Engineer

Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe – large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military.

With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts. Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization.

Astranis has raised over $1.2 billion from some of the world’s best investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Blackrock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and Snowpoint, and employs a team of 500 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.

HITL Test Engineer

We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated HITL Test Engineer to join our rapidly-growing team. In this role, you will be responsible for designing, building, and maintaining the  hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) testbeds that serve as the primary proving ground for every satellite we build and fly. You will collaborate with nearly every engineering team — Flight Software, Guidance Navigation & Control, Avionics, Power, Payload, and Mission Ops — to ensure our testbeds are flight-representative, reliable, and always ready to support testing. If it runs on a satellite, it gets proven on HITL first.

Role

• Own the full lifecycle of flatsat and HITL testbed builds, from initial design and BOM development through hardware procurement and software bring-up

• Scope and design harnessing needs, coordinating with manufacturing to produce custom harnesses for flight-like hardware

• Serve on a rotating on-call point of contact for testbed health, triaging anomalies and managing access for other engineers

• Diagnose and resolve hardware and software failures on the testbed, spanning firmware interfaces, flight software, and physical components

• Drive testbed architecture decisions, including hardware allocation tradeoffs and risk mitigation for testbed contention

• Expand simulation capabilities as new satellite blocks come online, integrating motor emulators and deployment simulators

• Develop tooling to improve testbed observability, monitoring, and automated operations

• Assist in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring additional teammates to our rapidly-growing team

Requirements

• Bachelors degree in EE, AE, CS (or equivalent background knowledge)

• 2-5+ years of experience in hardware integration, systems bring-up, or test engineering

• Comfort working across hardware and software, from rack assembly to debugging Python tracebacks

• Experience with embedded systems, proprietary test hardware, or laboratory hardware like logic analyzers and oscilloscopes

• 2+ years of experience with Python (or equivalent high-level scripting language) for test automation

• 1+ years of experience with Linux and shell command line tools

• 1+ years of experience with version control systems (git or equivalent)

• Experience reading schematics and debugging circuits that interface with embedded software

• Strong debugging instincts and a methodical approach to documenting novel failures

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• A passion for building things, including working in a fast-paced environment and hands-on development

Bonus

• Familiarity with flight software architectures, telemetry systems, or simulation frameworks

• Prior experience with networked lab infrastructure, Kubernetes, or Linux system administration

• Please apply even if you do not meet every single criterion listed above

What we offer:

All our positions offer a compensation package that includes equity and robust benefits.

Base pay is just one component of Astranis’s total rewards package. Your compensation also includes a significant equity package via incentive stock options, high-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.

Astranis pay ranges are informed and defined through professional-grade salary surveys and compensation data sources. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, and the level and scope of the position.

Base Salary

$150,000 — $215,000 USD

U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required

(To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))

Our mission and products are built for everyone, regardless of gender, race, creed, or background. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we invite all people to join our team and bring their unique perspectives to make us stronger.

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