Astranis is a company that designs, builds, and operates advanced satellites for high orbits to provide dedicated, secure communications networks.
<div class="content-intro"><p>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.<br><br>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.</p></div><p><strong>HITL Test Engineer</strong></p> <p>We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated HITL Test Engineer to join our rapidly-growing team. In this role, you will be responsible for designing, building, and maintaining the hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) testbeds that serve as the primary proving ground for every satellite we build and fly. You will collaborate with nearly every engineering team — Flight Software, Guidance Navigation & Control, Avionics, Power, Payload, and Mission Ops — to ensure our testbeds are flight-representative, reliable, and always ready to support testing. If it runs on a satellite, it gets proven on HITL first.</p> <p><strong>Role</strong></p> <ul> <li>Own the full lifecycle of flatsat and HITL testbed builds, from initial design and BOM development through hardware procurement and software bring-up</li> <li>Scope and design harnessing needs, coordinating with manufacturing to produce custom harnesses for flight-like hardware</li> <li>Serve on a rotating on-call point of contact for testbed health, triaging anomalies and managing access for other engineers</li> <li>Diagnose and resolve hardware and software failures on the testbed, spanning firmware interfaces, flight software, and physical components</li> <li>Drive testbed architecture decisions, including hardware allocation tradeoffs and risk mitigation for testbed contention</li> <li>Expand simulation capabilities as new satellite blocks come online, integrating motor emulators and deployment simulators</li> <li>Develop tooling to improve testbed observability, monitoring, and automated operations</li> <li>Assist in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring additional teammates to our rapidly-growing team</li> </ul> <p><strong>Requirements</strong></p> <ul> <li>Bachelors degree in EE, AE, CS (or equivalent background knowledge)</li> <li>2-5+ years of experience in hardware integration, systems bring-up, or test engineering</li> <li>Comfort working across hardware and software, from rack assembly to debugging Python tracebacks</li> <li>Experience with embedded systems, proprietary test hardware, or laboratory hardware like logic analyzers and oscilloscopes</li> <li>2+ years of experience with Python (or equivalent high-level scripting language) for test automation</li> <li>1+ years of experience with Linux and shell command line tools</li> <li>1+ years of experience with version control systems (git or equivalent)</li> <li>Experience reading schematics and debugging circuits that interface with embedded software</li> <li>Strong debugging instincts and a methodical approach to documenting novel failures</li> <li>Excellent written and verbal communication skills</li> <li>A passion for building things, including working in a fast-paced environment and hands-on development</li> </ul> <p><strong>Bonus</strong></p> <ul> <li>Familiarity with flight software architectures, telemetry systems, or simulation frameworks</li> <li>Prior experience with networked lab infrastructure, Kubernetes, or Linux system administration</li> <li>Please apply even if you do not meet every single criterion listed above</li> </ul><div class="content-pay-transparency"><div class="pay-input"><div class="description"><div><strong>What we offer: </strong></div> <div> </div> <div>All our positions offer a compensation package that includes equity and robust benefits.</div> <div> </div> <div> <p data-path-to-node="3">Base pay is just one component of Astranis’s total rewards package. Your compensation also includes a significant equity package via incentive stock options, high-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.</p> </div> <div>Astranis pay ranges are informed and defined through professional-grade salary surveys and compensation data sources. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, and the level and scope of the position.</div></div><div class="title">Base Salary</div><div class="pay-range"><span>$150,000</span><span class="divider">—</span><span>$215,000 USD</span></div></div></div><div class="content-conclusion"><div><strong>U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required</strong></div> <div>(To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))</div> <div> </div> <div>Our mission and our products are meant to connect the world and everyone in it, regardless of gender, race, creed, or any other distinction. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we encourage all people to join our team and bring their unique perspective to help make us stronger.</div></div>