About this Radiation Effects Associate Engineer (Fall 2026) role at Astranis
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 $750 million from some of the world’s best investors, from Andreessen Horowitz to Blackrock and Fidelity, and employs a team of 450 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.
Radiation Effects Associate Engineer (Fall 2026)
Associate Engineer positions typically last for twelve weeks, and are salaried roles designed for students who have already received a bachelor's degree (or who will have done so before working at Astranis).
As our Radiation Effects Associate Engineer, you will be supporting the modeling, analysis, and rigorous electrical testing of actual spacecraft hardware within the space radiation environment. You will have a direct impact on our space vehicles by characterizing electrical component degradation and executing hardware testing at various laboratories across the U.S.
If you are still a college student, please apply to join us as an Intern.
Role
- Evaluate and electrically test fault-tolerant electrical systems operating in a radiation environment
- Assist in creating electrical test plans, developing test fixtures, and documenting test activities and results. Practice efficient issue diagnosis and draft clear documentation for review by the team
- Support radiation testing campaigns to up-screen components for TID and SEE, focusing on electrical parametric characterization before, during, and after exposure
- Work in a cross-discipline manner across teams to inform their decisions with regards to radiation considerations
- Support test development and early-stage activities, which include breadboarding electrical circuits, automated test setup verification, and basic cable harness fabrication
Requirements
- Have a four-year B.S degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related engineering field by the time of start date
- A passion for hardware development, including working in a fast-paced environment and hands-on electrical testing and troubleshooting
- Strong proficiency with essential electronics lab equipment, including the standard use of oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, and source meter units
- Experience with Altium Designer (or other PCB design software) for schematic capture and board layout
- Demonstrated ability to personally design, build, and rigorously test electrical hardware from scratch
- US Citizenship or Green Card
- Don't meet them all? Not a problem. Please apply even if you do not meet all these criteria
Bonus
- Familiarity with the space radiation environment and effects on semiconductor devices
- Experience with SPICE-based simulators (LTSpice, PSPICE, ADS, etc.) to simulate circuit behavior and faults
- Comfortable with soldering, rework, and building specialized test harnesses
- Familiarity with fundamental electronics concepts and components (integrated circuits, PCBAs, sensors) and how to benchmark their performance
- Experience with radiation transport software (FastRAD, Novice, MCNPX, etc.)
