Principal Electrical Engineer

Responsibilities

• Manage and lead a team of electrical engineers, fostering a collaborative and high-performance environment
• Provide technical guidance and mentorship to the electrical engineering team
• Lead the design, analysis, and optimization of electrical systems for space applications
• Determine architecture and lead detailed electronics analysis using digital and analog circuit design
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including mechanical, optical, and systems engineers
• Manage functional budgets and generate ROI assessments for process improvements
• Act as a core assessor in engineering gate reviews and peer review events
• Implement quality control measures to ensure compliance with industry standards
• Establish design guidelines to support seamless handoff to production and scaling
• Identify and assess potential risks in electrical design and development projects

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical or computer engineering or a related discipline
• 12+ years of electrical hardware experience
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Security Clearance
• Extensive experience designing electrical systems for space applications
• Proficiency in high-speed, analog, and digital printed circuit board design
• Experience meeting rigid EMI/EMC guidelines
• Background in opto-electronics, including low-noise, high-gain circuitry and optical diode detection
• Experience migrating designs from R&D to full-scale production in AS9100/ISO 9001 environments
• Strong leadership and mentoring experience for technical teams

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s or PhD in electrical or computer engineering
• Experience designing for space environments, including radiation impacts and mitigation
• Experience designing for high-reliability aerospace applications
• Active TS/SCI U.S. Government Security Clearance

About the Company

Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company delivering responsive launch services, complete spacecraft design and manufacturing, payloads, satellite components, and more. Our Space Systems team builds everything from complete spacecraft to precision payloads and the subsystems that allow them to thrive in space.