Electrical and Diagnostic Research Engineer for Plasma and Electric Space Propulsion

Electrical and Diagnostic Research Engineer

LOCATION: Mercury Blvd, near Edwards AFB.

Salary Range: $120-150k

JOB STATUS: Full-time

CLEARANCE: Secret

Astrion has an exciting opportunity for an Electrical and Diagnostic Research Engineer for Plasma and Electric Space Propulsion to join our RAPTR contract.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS

• Minimum of an M.S. or equivalent experience in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or a similar field
• Technical expertise in at least one area of: electrical circuits, RF power, plasma generation, plasma sensor development, electrostatic probes for plasma or space electric propulsion systmes, sense lines, high-speed electronics, data acquisition systems, radiation-tolerant components, or pulsed power operation.
• Experience building, testing, operating, and troubleshooting electrical circuits used to provide power, control hardware and instruments, or acquire data signals.
• Experience with LTSpice, PSpice, MATLAB, LabVIEW, National Instruments systems, Python, Arduino, SolidWorks, or other related programming languages.
• Ability to work in a team as well as independently with good time management and self-motivation
• Must be a United States Citizen and be able to obtain a Security Clearance

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS / SKILLS

• PhD or equivalent professional experience (MS and 3+ years) in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related field
• Knowledge of applying diagnostics for custom applications involving plasma devices are or charged particle beams, including time-of-flight systems, retarding potential analyzers, plasma probes (e.g. Langmuir probes, emissive probes, Faraday cups, ExB probes), or thrust stands
• Strong skills in integrating sensors and performing sensor fusion for real-time data acquisition applications
• Experience operating experiments or tests involving Hall-effect thrusters, ionic liquid electrosprays, or other electric propulsion technologies
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret and report on complex test data
• Experience designing and building components using conventional machining methods with geometric dimensioning and tolerancing
• Familiarity in radiation-tolerant electrical components and considerations
• Experience working in or managing teams of scientists, engineers, and technicians and having good interpersonal, reporting, and communication skills (written and verbal) for publications.
• Expertise with Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), LaTeX, or other document generator to prepare technical reports and presentations for leadership and publication.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Full-time electrical engineering research position providing engineering support to the Advanced Electric Propulsion Group in the In-Space Propulsion Branch of the Air Force Research Laboratory, Rocket Propulsion Division (AFRL/RQR).
• Duties will include leading the electrical and controls design and implementation for electric propulsion and diagnostic devices including breakout boxes, filter circuits, high-voltage boards, and low-impedance sense lines.
• This position will work with plasma propulsion experts to support thruster and diagnostic testing, flight hardware development, and real-time telemetry acquisition. Technologies of interest include Hall thrusters, electrosprays, radio frequency thrusters, magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters, pulsed plasma thrusters, and other advanced electric propulsion concepts.