---
title: 'Principal Electrical Design Engineer, Gateways & Customer Hardware (Starlink) at SpaceX'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/principal-electrical-design-engineer-gateways-customer-hardware-starlink-spacex-x667t1nb3htp'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Principal Electrical Design Engineer, Gateways & Customer Hardware (Starlink) at SpaceX

- **Company:** SpaceX
- **Location:** Bastrop, TX
- **Posted:** 2026-08-13
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/spacex/jobs/8700422002?gh_jid=8700422002

## Job description

SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not. Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars.

PRINCIPAL ELECTRICAL DESIGN ENGINEER, GATEWAYS & CUSTOMER HARDWARE (STARLINK)

Starlink believes in providing fast, reliable internet to serve populations with little or no connectivity. We design, build, launch, and operate the world's largest constellation of satellites, enabling us to operate a global internet network unbounded by traditional ground infrastructure limitations. Starlink also designs, builds, and delivers high-volume consumer hardware that allows users to connect to these satellites within minutes of unboxing, as well as our advanced gateways that we deploy regionally throughout the world. The root of SpaceX’s success so far lies in our mission to keep all engineering and production in-house, which enables a tight feedback loop, nimble decision-making, and speedy deliverables. With millions of daily users worldwide already online, Starlink is truly a game-changer and levels the playing field for those who were previously unconnected.

As a Principal Electrical Design Engineer on the Starlink team, you will have complete ownership over the development of millions of customer-facing products and devices that we ship directly to end users (Starlink dishes/user terminals, Wi-Fi routers, etc.). Our customers currently include teachers in the most remote parts of the Amazon, researchers in Antarctica, digital nomads who travel via RV, emergency responders, commercial airlines, cruise lines, and residential users who live in more rural or developing areas. You will be responsible for the design, implementation, and verification of the entire electrical system for these products. You could also be responsible for the design and performance of next-generation gateways - ultimately ensuring that our ground station antenna hardware can withstand the harshest environmental conditions while maintaining reliable communication with millions of users on a global scale. You will interact regularly with partner teams including silicon, software, mechanical, and manufacturing engineering to steer this hardware from initial concept development to full-scale production.

## RESPONSIBILITIES:

- Design, develop, and test highly reliable electronics for communicating with our satellites
- Partner with software, mechanical, thermal, manufacturing, and production test teams
- Drive system trades, requirements capture, component selection, analysis, schematic capture, PCB layout, prototyping, hardware bring-up, debugging, documentation, manufacturing, and test of complex electrical designs
- Get hands-on and support hardware through production, satellite integration, and flight
- Work closely with engineers from adjacent disciplines (mechanical, thermal, software, test engineering, supply chain, silicon design, etc.) to deliver tightly integrated, high-performance hardware
- Drive continual improvements to our designs by building physical and digital tools to analyze data collected on orbit and in the lab
- Challenge assumptions and work to find simple solutions to complex problems

## BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

- Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or computer engineering
- 8+ years of professional experience designing circuits, electronic products, or hardware

## PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

- Master’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or similar engineering degree
- 10+ years of professional experience rapidly designing and delivering highly reliable products
- 10+ years of electronic product experience designing hardware from concept through production; strong emphasis on full life cycle development of new hardware products and not small incremental updates to legacy hardware
- 10+ years of experience designing and implementing mixed-signal circuit boards from concept through production using processors, FPGAs, Ethernet, multi-GHz Serdes, DRAM interfaces (DDR4), I2C, SPI, operational amplifiers, analog to digital and digital to analog converters, and power supply components
- 10+ years of professional experience testing, troubleshooting, and debugging electronics
- Strong understanding of computers and programming languages (Python, C/C++)
- Demonstrated ability to work in a highly cross-functional role

## ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

- Ability to work extended hours or weekends as needed for mission critical deadlines

## ITAR REQUIREMENTS:

- To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about the ITAR [here](https://www.pmddtc.state.gov/?id=ddtc_kb_article_page&sys_id=24d528fddbfc930044f9ff621f961987).

SpaceX is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with SpaceX is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Applicants wishing to view a copy of SpaceX’s Affirmative Action Plan for veterans and individuals with disabilities, or applicants requiring reasonable accommodation to the application/interview process should reach out to EEOCompliance@spacex.com.

## About SpaceX

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: SpaceX designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft while building a global satellite broadband network and AI infrastructure to enable interplanetary life.
- **Entity Type**: Public (Nasdaq: SPCX) – IPO priced at $135/share on June 12, 2026
- **Headquarters**: Starbase, Texas (primary); Hawthorne, California (historical headquarters)
- **Founded**: 2002
- **Founders**: Elon Musk

## Core Business
- **Industries**: Aerospace & Defense, Spaceflight, Satellite Telecommunications, Artificial Intelligence
- **Target Customers**: Government (NASA, U.S. Armed Forces, international agencies), Commercial satellite operators, Broadband consumers (Starlink), Defense/intelligence (Starshield)
- **Mission**: To make humanity multiplanetary by building the integrated hardware and software infrastructure of the future across space, connectivity, and AI.

## Products & Services
- **Falcon 9**: Reusable two-stage rocket – the world’s most launched orbital rocket, with over 630 successful first-stage reflights.
- **Falcon Heavy**: Heavy-lift launch vehicle composed of three Falcon 9 cores; capable of lifting nearly 64 metric tons to orbit.
- **Starship**: Fully reusable super-heavy launch vehicle and spacecraft (largest ever built) designed for missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
- **Dragon 2**: Crew and cargo spacecraft used for NASA Commercial Crew and private missions to the ISS and beyond.
- **Starlink**: Low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation providing high-speed, low-latency broadband internet to over 10.3 million people globally.
- **Starshield**: Military-grade satellite services for national security and defense customers.
- **SpaceXAI**: Division focused on AI compute infrastructure, frontier models, and real-time data processing (including AI compute satellites).

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Conflicting reports – Internal share offer in 2025 valued SpaceX at **$800 billion**; IPO pricing (June 2026) implied a market capitalization of approximately **$75 billion** for the shares offered.
- **Key Metric**: Annual revenue of **$15.0 billion** (2025); total funding raised **$15.2 billion** across 56 rounds.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Google (led $1B Series G), Intesa Sanpaolo, NASA, U.S. Space Force, and numerous institutional investors.
- **Growth Signals**: Employee headcount of **11,387** (monthly growth +2.5%); **1,671 active job postings**; Falcon 9 launch cadence of 1–3 per week; Starlink subscriber base covering ~10.3 million people; recent acquisition of xAI (February 2026).

## Competitive Advantages
- **Full reusability**: Only company with a fleet of reusable orbital rockets (Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy), dramatically lowering per-launch cost.
- **Vertical integration**: Designs, manufactures, and operates its own rockets, spacecraft, satellite constellation, and AI platform – enabling rapid iteration and cost control.
- **Scale and reliability**: More orbital launches per year than any other provider (public or private); proven track record with NASA and DoD.
- **First-mover in commercial spaceflight**: Established crew transport, satellite internet, and now AI compute in orbit.

## Strategic Focus
- **Starship development**: Complete testing and operational deployment of the fully reusable Starship system for lunar (Artemis) and Mars missions.
- **Starlink expansion**: Grow subscriber base, launch V3 satellites, and extend mobile and direct-to-cell services.
- **AI integration**: Leverage SpaceXAI for on-orbit compute and real-time data analytics; build AI compute satellites.
- **Interplanetary infrastructure**: Develop technologies for sustained human presence on the Moon and Mars.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven culture**: Employees directly contribute to making life multiplanetary – “hard work and innovative solutions result in big gains.”
- **Impactful projects**: Work on reusable rockets, crewed spacecraft, global broadband, and AI systems that are actively changing the space industry.
- **Compensation**: Competitive salaries, comprehensive health benefits, and equity packages.
- **Work locations**: Primary campuses in Hawthorne, CA and Starbase, TX (with additional sites in Cape Canaveral, FL and Vandenberg, CA). Roles span engineering, software, manufacturing, and support.
- **Engineering culture**: Merit-based, fast-paced, with high ownership; top talent sourced from Tesla, Boeing, NASA JPL, and other aerospace leaders.
- **Open roles**: Over 1,600 active positions across software, AI, avionics, propulsion, supply chain, and more – including internships.

## Sources
1. [SpaceX Careers Page](https://www.spacex.com/careers)
2. [LinkedIn – SpaceX Company Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/company/spacex)
3. [SpaceX IPO Factsheet (PDF)](https://content.spacex.com/cms-assets/FINAL_Documents%20and%20Updates/SpaceX%20IPO_Factsheet.pdf)
4. [SpaceX IPO Pricing Press Release](https://ir.spacex.com/updates/releases-details/2026/Space-Exploration-Technologies-Corp--Announces-Pricing-of-Initial-Public-Offering/default.aspx)
5. [SpaceX Jobs Board (Greenhouse)](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/spacex)

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