PCB Designer

SpaceX

Confirmed live yesterday High trust

Quick summary

Work type: On-site
Location: Hawthorne, CA
Salary: $100,000–$140,000 / yr
Posted: 47 days ago
Freshness: Confirmed live yesterday
Nearby: 99+ roles within 25 mi

Market check

Salary context

Below market

How this pay compares to similar roles

Similar $203k

This role $120k

$82k most similar roles pay here $268k

This role pays less than 95% of similar roles. Most pay $164,437–$241,750 — the shaded band above. At the midpoint, this role pays about $120k versus about $203k for comparable roles.

Based on 240 similar postings.

Employer

About SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft with the mission of enabling humans to become a multi-planetary species. It operates the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Starship launch vehicles, as well as the Starlink satellite internet constellation.

SpaceX currently has 720 open roles on FindRole.

Listed pay typically runs $130,000–$165,000 across 511 roles with salary data.

Most-posted roles

View all roles at SpaceX

At a glance

TL;DR · PCB Designer

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PCB Designer (Starship) joins the Starship team to develop advanced electronics for orbital flight and space travel. This role involves creating layouts for in-house board designs, including radio phased arrays and power converters. The designer will perform multilayer PCB layout for over 20 layers, manage component placement, and conduct high-speed routing for digital, analog, RF, and power conversion systems. Key responsibilities include performing SI/PI simulations to mitigate crosstalk and EMI issues, producing fabrication deliverables like Gerber and ODB++ files, and ensuring designs meet manufacturability standards. The role requires proficiency in Altium Designer or Mentor Xpedition, as well as Python for scripting and automation. Candidates must navigate complex technical challenges involving high-speed buses, FPGA, DRAM, and CPU designs while collaborating with mechanical, thermal, and RF engineers to solve critical hardware problems in the space industry.

Skills

PCB Design Mentor Xpedition Altium Designer Python High-Speed Routing SI/PI Simulation DFM DFA Gerber ODB++ IPC-2581 Power Conversion Analog and Digital Design FPGA DC-DC Converters Scripting

What you'll do

Design multilayer PCB layouts including component placement, high-speed routing, and power/ground plane design.
Perform pre- and post-layout SI/PI simulations to mitigate crosstalk, reflections, and EMI/EMC issues.
Produce fabrication deliverables such as Gerber, ODB++, IPC-2581 files, and stack-up drawings.
Analyze designs for manufacturability and incorporate production feedback to improve yield and reduce costs.
Maintain and update accurate PCB component libraries including symbols, footprints, and 3D models.
Collaborate with hardware engineers to provide technical recommendations during design reviews and prototype bring-up.
Integrate thermal vias, shielding, and enclosure requirements in coordination with mechanical and RF engineers.
Develop custom AI tools and scripts to improve the efficiency of PCB design tasks.

What we're looking for

Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or 3+ years of professional experience with PCB layout.
Must be a U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee to meet ITAR requirements.
Experience with Mentor Xpedition and/or Altium Designer (Mentor Xpedition preferred).
2+ years of experience with PCB layout and routing in areas like RF components, high pin density, or surface-mount technology (preferred).
1+ years of experience with ECAD libraries and library configuration management (preferred).
Experience with mixed analog/digital designs, high-speed buses, FPGA, DRAM, and power conversion systems (preferred).
Proficiency in Python or other scripting languages for automating library tasks and data extraction (preferred).
Demonstrated understanding of design for manufacturability, assembly, and test (preferred).