Lead Electrical Engineer

About the role

Company Overview: Starcloud is building a network of data centers in space, starting at kilowatts and scaling to gigawatt capacity. Falling launch costs allow us to take advantage of the abundant energy, radiative cooling techniques, and ability to rapidly scale in space. Join our team, push the boundaries of the space economy, and be part of this pioneering effort to redefine the future of energy. Who we are Starcloud is building data centers in space. By moving compute into orbit, we tap nearly unlimited solar power and radiate heat straight into the cold of space, escaping the energy and cooling limits that constrain data centers on Earth. We launched our first spacecraft last year and have three more flying over the next 18 months, each a different architecture, giving us an unusually fast design-build-test-fly loop. We're a small team of exceptional engineers, backed by leading investors, building in person in Redmond, WA. The role You'll own the electrical architecture, design, analysis, testing, and flight execution of every electrical system on our spacecraft. It's a hands-on leadership role: deep individual technical contribution plus building and leading the electrical engineering team. You'll have real freedom to pursue novel architectures, test them fast on the ground, and validate them in orbit, on a problem that genuinely requires new solutions. What you'll do - Own the electrical architecture: power generation, storage, distribution, conversion, avionics, compute interfaces, harnessing, and grounding across spacecraft and payloads. - Lead the hard trades: power architecture, battery sizing, solar array interfaces, power conversion, redundancy, fault protection, and avionics integration, optimized across performance, mass, cost, reliability, and schedule. - Push novel architectures: prototype rapidly, test on the ground, validate in orbit. - Deliver flight hardware end to end: concept through design, procurement, manufacturing, integration, test, qualification, and launch. - Own electrical test: board, subsystem, and spacecraft level, and turn test data and on-orbit telemetry into better designs across successive spacecraft. - Build the team: hire, manage, and mentor the electrical engineering team, and set the standards, design-review practices, and verification workflows. - Partner cross-functionally: mechanical, thermal, avionics, software, systems, manufacturing, test, and operations. What we're looking for - BS in Electrical, Computer, or Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent experience. - 8+ years of hands-on electrical engineering: design, analysis, hardware development, integration, and test. - Deep command of power electronics, power distribution, batteries, solar arrays, grounding, EMI/EMC, harnessing, and avionics interfaces. - A track record delivering electrical hardware optimized for performance, reliability, manufacturability, cost, and schedule. - Comfortable managing engineers while staying deeply hands-on. - You thrive in fast, highly iterative hardware development, with an appetite for unconventional designs and disciplined engineering under uncertainty. Nice to have - Experience formally leading an electrical engineering team. - Spacecraft electrical hardware, or other mission-critical hardware that has survived a harsh environment. - High-power systems: spacecraft or data center power, automotive power electronics, grid-scale power, industrial controls, robotics, aviation, or defense. - Hands-on PCB development, harness fabrication, connector selection, EMI/EMC control, and integration under real manufacturing constraints. Eligibility This role requires access to information controlled under U.S. export laws. Candidates must be a U.S. person (citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, or protected individual) under ITAR/EAR. Compensation and benefits Annual salary: $200,000 - $250,000 USD Starcloud offers a competitive salary and benefits package, including stock options, discretionary bonuses, medical, vision, dental, 401(k) with company match, disability and life insurance, paid parental leave, vacation, holidays, and sick leave. Don't quite fit? If this isn't an exact match but you're exceptional at what you do, tell us what you'd own and why Starcloud, and apply anyway. Additional Requirements: - Willingness to work extended hours and weekends as necessary to support critical project milestones. - Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or eligible for authorization under U.S. export regulations. Equal Opportunity Employer: Starcloud is committed to fostering an inclusive and meritocratic workplace. We provide equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should notify our Human Resources Department. Join Starcloud and shape the future! Embrace the challenge, push technological boundaries, and contribute to solving the global energy challenge. Apply today to join our visionary team dedicated to innovation and advancing humanity. We receive many applications, and so we apologize that we may not be able to respond to every applicant.