Senior Electrical Engineer

Job description

**Who We Are** GITAI is a vertically integrated space and defense company building the next generation of hardware for low-Earth-orbit missions. At our core is the space robotics technology that has defined GITAI from the beginning. A small, highly capable engineering team applies that foundation across satellite buses, in-orbit servicing robotics, and mission hardware for applications such as Earth observation. Today, a major focus of our work is supporting U.S. national security missions, particularly through proliferated LEO satellite constellations and other next-generation space systems. We design, build, integrate, and test much of our hardware in-house. Electrical, mechanical, software, manufacturing, integration, and test teams work closely together, allowing a small team to own complete systems rather than isolated components. This vertical integration helps us move quickly, learn directly from hardware, and shorten the path from architecture to a working system. We are still early. The systems, the company, and the market are all being built at the same time. Requirements change, technical problems are often ambiguous, and many answers do not yet exist. We are looking for exceptional engineers and operators who want broad ownership, can work across disciplines, and are willing to stay close to the hardware until the mission succeeds. **Your Mission** As a Senior Electrical Engineer at GITAI, you will own electrical hardware from circuit design through PCB design, bring-up, integration, and test. You must be able to independently design and debug fundamental digital and analog circuits, develop PCBAs from schematic through layout, and verify the resulting hardware through hands-on testing. On top of that broad foundation, we expect you to bring deep expertise in at least one technical area, such as power electronics, RF, FPGA-based systems, high-speed digital, motor control, or another relevant domain, and use that expertise to raise the technical level of the team. This is a hands-on Senior IC role. You will make technical decisions, review and guide other engineers, and drive work across mechanical, firmware, software, systems, manufacturing, suppliers, and test teams. We value experience, but not attachment to old methods. You should be willing to challenge your own assumptions, learn new approaches quickly, and do the hard work required to make the hardware succeed. **What You’ll Drive** - Own electrical hardware from digital and analog circuit design through schematic capture, PCB layout, fabrication, bring-up, integration, and test. - Design, review, and debug PCBAs using Altium or similar ECAD tools and standard electrical lab equipment. - Serve as a technical leader in at least one specialized electrical domain and drive difficult architecture and design decisions in that area. - Lead design reviews and help other engineers solve complex electrical hardware problems through practical technical guidance. - Drive cross-functional decisions across mechanical, firmware, software, systems, manufacturing, suppliers, and test teams. - Make practical trade-offs across performance, reliability, manufacturability, component availability, thermal constraints, schedule, and cost. - Lead root-cause investigations and corrective design changes when hardware fails during bring-up, integration, or testing. - Continuously improve how the team designs and builds hardware rather than relying on established methods simply because they worked before. **What We’re Looking For** - Master’s degree or higher in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a closely related field is required. - 5+ years of hands-on electrical hardware development experience. - Strong fundamentals in both digital and analog circuit design. - Demonstrated ability to personally take PCBAs from schematic design and PCB layout through fabrication, bring-up, debugging, and test. - Deep technical expertise in at least one area such as power electronics, RF, FPGA-based systems, high-speed digital, motor control, or another relevant electrical engineering domain. - Demonstrated ability to lead technical decisions and raise the capability of other engineers through design reviews, debugging, and hands-on technical guidance. - Strong practical experience with Altium or similar ECAD tools, PCB fabrication and assembly, and electrical lab equipment. - Ability to drive technical work across multiple engineering disciplines and stakeholders under incomplete or changing requirements. - Strong engineering judgment, curiosity, and willingness to adopt new tools, methods, and technical approaches when they are better than established practice. - Willingness to work hard and stay personally accountable for getting hardware from design to working system. - 1+ year of full-time experience at an early-stage hardware startup, ideally Seed through Series B. - U.S. citizenship required, as this role will support U.S. government space and defense programs and may require eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance. **Location & Employment Type** - Location: Torrance, CA, onsite. Travel to test sites, including Mojave and the greater Los Angeles area, is expected based on program needs. - Employment Type: Full-Time, Exempt - Typical Work Hours: Monday to Friday, approximately 9:00 AM–6:00 PM onsite. Flexibility is expected based on mission schedules and program needs. **Compensation** - BaseSalary**:** $155,000–$200,000 per year - Final compensation will be determined based on experience, technical depth, interview performance, and role fit. - This position is also eligible for equity. **Benefits** - Health Insurance – Platinum medical plan with 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees; 90% for dependents - 401(k) Plan – Company match up to 3.5%, with traditional and Roth options - Equity – Stock option eligibility depending on role - Relocation Support – Available for qualifying positions - Time Off – 12 paid holidays per year, 12 days of paid vacation per year, and paid sick leave (in accordance with applicable law) - Office Perks – Free snacks and drinks, plus regular team events *GITAI does not accept unsolicited resumes from staffing or recruiting agencies. We work only with recruiting partners that have been specifically engaged by GITAI. No fees will be paid for resumes submitted without a prior agreement.* Compensation may include base salary or hourly pay and, depending on the position, equity. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, skillset, and other job-related factors. LA salary range $155,000—$200,000 USD **Important Notice** - Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the U.S. This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. - To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), GITAI Employees must be a U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State and/or the U.S. Department of Commerce, as applicable. - GITAI USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment with GITAI USA 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.