Spacecraft Test Engineer II

Please Note: To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

At Cesium Astro
, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross‑functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands‑on, interactive, and autonomous work, Cesium Astro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward‑thinking individuals to join our team.

We are looking to add a Spacecraft Test Engineer II to our team. If you are excited about working in a startup environment, have a strong work ethic, and are passionate about cutting‑edge electronics, we would like to hear from you.

In this position, you will work closely with Cesium Astro design engineers to create subsystem and spacecraft functional and performance test setups, develop and execute test procedures, design, deploy and operate test systems, and data capture and analysis tools. You will have the opportunity to use and maintain state‑of‑the‑art spacecraft lab instrumentation, such as spectrum analyzers, automated power supplies, thermal cycling chamber, thermal vacuum chamber, large scale vibration test table, and EMI/EMC chamber.

This role will involve design verification and qualification for spacecraft, payloads and subsystems. You will be challenged to propose and implement intricate test setups to increase productivity, maintain safe operating conditions, and reliably generate test results.

This role involves the test and handling of space flight hardware. This includes unique fastener types, materials, cleanliness standards, and electronics sensitive to electrostatic discharge. As such, familiarity with space flight hardware at a final level of assembly (subsystems, payloads, or spacecraft) is highly preferred. This role will also lead the development and implementation of test solutions and automation including interfacing with control systems and leading the development of test automation scripts.

Experience with active phased arrays and RF circuitry, including the performance and safety considerations associated with this equipment is a plus.

Your work will have a direct impact on the success of the company. You will work closely with the engineering team, program management to ensure the successful build and launch of our satellite. Element will be the largest, most powerful rideshare satellite in LEO. We’re launching eight of them in the next four years, starting with our first launch this year.

Together, our small team will design, build, and iterate to reduce mass and cost while increasing performance, reliability, and manufacturability of a new generation of satellites. Let’s build!

• Develop, implement and execute test automation and post‑processing scripts
• Design, develop and implement test configurations and support in situ troubleshooting, as required
• Create clean, intricate and well‑documented test setups consisting of instrumentation, cabling, and the devices under test
• Create thorough documentation with meticulous attention to detail and a high standard of quality
• Assemble and validate custom test fixtures, cable harnesses, etc. for supporting test station development for production and product validation
• Perform measurement validation on test solutions to validate the performance of the instruments, cabling, etc.
• Support design engineers in unit verification tests in planning, execution, and anomaly troubleshooting and resolution in the event it is required
• Work with the production, supply chain and Assembly, Integration, and Test (AI&T) teams to maintain facilities, equipment functionality, and calibration of tools and equipment
• Support the development of test plans,…