Senior Electrical Engineer

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Senior Electrical Engineer

Pixxel – Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Refined job description

ROLE
– Lead the architecture, design, and development of electronic systems for spacecraft and payload applications
– Design and realise board-level hardware combining analog, digital, and power electronics for mission-critical space systems
– Own the complete hardware lifecycle including requirements capture, trade studies, schematic design, component selection, PCB implementation, bring-up, validation, and release
– Design flight PCBs for subsystems including electrical power systems, digital avionics, sensor and interface electronics, and payload support electronics
– Perform engineering analysis for power integrity, signal integrity, timing, grounding, noise coupling, thermal performance, and EMI/EMC behavior
– Work with interfaces and protocols such as SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, RS422/RS485, LVDS, SpaceWire, Ethernet, and other subsystem communication links
– Perform component selection, derating analysis, worst-case analysis, tolerance analysis, and FMECA/FMEA for flight electronics
– Drive design decisions with consideration for high reliability, fault tolerance, fail-safe operation, manufacturability, testability, and environmental robustness
– Support part evaluation and trade studies for space-grade, rad-tolerant, and COTS components depending on mission needs
– Review and define requirements for ESD protection, latch-up resilience, grounding strategy, isolation, and EMI/EMC performance
– Work closely with PCB layout engineers to ensure robust implementation of mixed-signal layout practices
– Lead board bring-up, debugging, root-cause analysis, and design iteration using lab instrumentation
– Develop test plans, test procedures, validation matrices, and operating procedures for board-level, subsystem-level, and integrated spacecraft electronics
– Generate and maintain documentation including requirements, interface control documents, design descriptions, analysis reports, test documentation, and manufacturing support packages
– Provide technical guidance during design reviews, failure analysis, and subsystem trade studies
– Mentor junior engineers in good design practices for mixed-signal, power, and high-reliability electronics

REQUIREMENTS
– Strong fundamentals in analog electronics, digital electronics, and power electronics
– Strong understanding of signal integrity, timing, grounding, EMI/EMC, power integrity, and thermal design
– Familiarity with communication and interface standards such as SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, RS422/RS485, LVDS, SpaceWire, or Ethernet
– Experience with battery electronics, solar power interfaces, converter design, telemetry/housekeeping electronics, or payload support hardware
– Familiarity with FPGAs, RTL concepts, clock/reset design, and digital system integration is a plus
– Experience with high-reliability, aerospace, automotive, defense, or industrial electronics is preferred
– Knowledge of ESD control and board-level protection design
– Strong documentation, ownership, and cross-functional collaboration skills

BENEFITS
– Health insurance coverage
– Unlimited leaves & flexible working hours
– Role-based remote work and work-from-home benefit
– Relocation assistance
– Professional Mental Wellness Services
– Employee Stock Options for all hires

Full job description

Role: Sr. Electrical Engineer Employment Type: Full Time About the Role: Lead the architecture, design, and development of electronic systems for spacecraft and payload applications. Design and realise board-level hardware combining analog, digital, and power electronics for mission-critical space systems. Own the complete hardware lifecycle including requirements capture, trade studies, schematic design, component selection, PCB implementation, bring-up, validation, and release. Design flight PCBs for subsystems including electrical power systems, digital avionics, sensor and interface electronics, and payload support electronics. Key Responsibilities Power, Analog and Digital Engineering Design and analyse power electronic circuits including DC-DC converters, power distribution, protection, load switching, battery-related circuits, and power conditioning stages. Develop analog circuits such as signal conditioning, sensing, measurement, monitoring, filtering, reference generation, and control loops. Design and validate digital electronics involving processors, FPGAs, memory, level translation, clocks, reset architecture, housekeeping, and interface circuitry. Perform engineering analysis for power integrity, signal integrity, timing, grounding, noise coupling, thermal performance, and EMI/EMC behavior. Work with interfaces and protocols such as SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, RS422/RS485, LVDS, SpaceWire, Ethernet, and other subsystem communication links. Component Engineering and Reliability Perform component selection, derating analysis, worst-case analysis, tolerance analysis, and FMECA/FMEA for flight electronics. Drive design decisions with consideration for high reliability, fault tolerance, fail-safe operation, manufacturability, testability, and environmental robustness. Support part evaluation and trade studies for space-grade, rad-tolerant, and COTS components depending on mission needs. Review and define requirements for ESD protection, latch-up resilience, grounding strategy, isolation, and EMI/EMC performance. PCB Realization and Hardware Bring-Up Work closely with PCB layout engineers to ensure robust implementation of mixed-signal layout practices, including partitioning, return current control, noise isolation, grounding, placement, and routing strategy. Review PCB layouts for power stages, sensitive analog circuits, high-speed digital interfaces, and flight-critical nets. Lead board bring-up, debugging, root-cause analysis, and design iteration using lab instrumentation such as oscilloscopes, power supplies, electronic loads, current probes, logic analyzers, multimeters, and thermal tools. Debug issues related to startup behavior, instability, interface errors, noise coupling, margins, and intermittent failures. Testing, Integration and Documentation Develop test plans, test procedures, validation matrices, and operating procedures for board-level, subsystem-level, and integrated spacecraft electronics. Support hardware integration and verification across all program phases including development, cleanroom integration, qualification, launch preparation, and post-launch operational support. Generate and maintain documentation including requirements, interface control documents, design descriptions, analysis reports, test documentation, and manufacturing support packages. Work with software and systems teams to define hardware-software interfaces and support system-level validation. Technical Leadership Provide technical guidance during design reviews, failure analysis, and subsystem trade studies. Mentor junior engineers in good design practices for mixed-signal, power, and high-reliability electronics. Help strengthen internal standards, design methodologies, review checklists, and hardware development practices within the team. Preferred Skills Strong fundamentals in analog electronics, digital electronics, and power electronics. Strong understanding of signal integrity, timing, grounding, EMI/EMC, power integrity, and thermal design. Familiarity with communication and interface standards such as SPI, I2C, UART, CAN, RS422/RS485, LVDS, SpaceWire, or Ethernet. Experience with battery electronics, solar power interfaces, converter design, telemetry/housekeeping electronics, or payload support hardware. Familiarity with FPGAs, RTL concepts, clock/reset design, and digital system integration is a plus. Experience with high-reliability, aerospace, automotive, defense, or industrial electronics is preferred. Knowledge of ESD control and board-level protection design. Strong documentation, ownership, and cross-functional collaboration skills. Benefits: Health insurance coverage Unlimited leaves & flexible working hours Role-based remote work and work-from-home benefit Relocation assistance Professional Mental Wellness Services Creche facility for primary caregivers (limited to India) Employee Stock Options for all hires About Pixxel Pixxel is a space data company and spacecraft manufacturer redefining Earth observation with hyperspectral imaging. The company’s first three commercial hyperspectral satellites—Fireflies—deliver imagery at 5-meter resolution and 135+ spectral bands, providing 50x richer detail than traditional Earth observation systems and unlocking insights across agriculture, climate, energy, environment, and more. Once fully deployed, Pixxel’s constellation of 18-24 satellites will capture imagery across up to 250 bands in VNIR and SWIR ranges, with a 40 km swath and daily global revisit capability. Pixxel’s most unique strength is its full-stack approach, integrating every layer of the value chain from satellite hardware and manufacturing to AI-powered analytics. Pixxel’s satellite constellation is complemented by Aurora, its in-house Earth Observation Studio that simplifies satellite imagery analysis and democratises remote sensing for all. Designed to make hyperspectral data more accessible, Aurora by Pixxel combines high-frequency imagery with AI-powered tools to generate actionable insights, even for users without technical backgrounds. The third pillar of Pixxel’s ecosystem is its in-house satellite manufacturing capability. Beyond building its own spacecraft, Pixxel also provides satellite systems and subsystems to other organisations. This dual capacity sets it apart in a sector where most companies focus on either payload design or data operations, but not both. Pixxel’s team is young but deeply mission-aligned, with a culture rooted in curiosity, speed, and long-term thinking. As the company grows its constellation and expands Aurora, the focus remains on making space-based insights practical, scalable, and genuinely helpful so that the health of the planet becomes measurable and action becomes possible. Pixxel was the only Indian startup selected for the Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator in Los Angeles and has been recognised in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023, Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, and Via Satellite’s Top Innovators list. For more information, see ourCareers page or follow Pixxel onLinkedIn andX/Twitter. Culture Pixxel is an organization where we enable our employees to work on world-changing problems that they are passionate about, and a place where they can be their best selves day in and day out while ensuring they have fun every day. Central to our employee-first ethos is a commitment to ensuring that every team member feels valued and heard. We nurture a healthy and supportive work environment where we prioritise well-being and growth in all aspects of life Link to Pixxel in Media