Senior Radiation Effects & Resilience Engineer

San Carlos, California

San Carlos, California

Full time

On-site

Compute Engineering

Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit to collect sunlight and enable a new class of capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute, to transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit compute to delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data. By rethinking how energy and data are generated and distributed in space, we’re unlocking entirely new ways to operate both in orbit and on Earth.

Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood), Cowboy Space Corp. is backed by leading investors and built by a team from top aerospace and defense organizations. We’re moving quickly to solve complex technical challenges and build a new category of space infrastructure.

This role is ideal for engineers who combine deep physics and radiation expertise with strong systems intuition and an interest in building large-scale compute infrastructure beyond Earth. This role is located onsite in San Carlos or Seattle WA.

Responsibilities

• Lead radiation effects analysis and resilience strategy for orbital compute systems.

• Analyze radiation effects on advanced semiconductor devices including GPUs, CPUs, FPGAs, networking ASICs, memory subsystems, and power electronics.

• Evaluate and develop mitigation techniques for SEU, SET, SEL, TID, and displacement damage.

• Define architectural resilience strategies including ECC, redundancy, fault detection and recovery, and software-defined fault tolerance mechanisms.

• Plan and execute radiation test campaigns.

• Coordinate with external laboratories and test facilities to define test conditions, sample preparation, biasing configurations, and data collection methodologies.

• Analyze radiation test results and derive reliability metrics including cross-section analysis, FIT estimation, and mission reliability projections.

• Develop radiation hardness assurance (RHA) methodologies for compute platforms and high-density PCB systems.

• Collaborate with mechanical and packaging teams on shielding and structural mitigation strategies.

• Investigate radiation-induced anomalies and drive root-cause analysis and corrective actions.

• Contribute to component selection, platform architecture, and deployment readiness reviews.

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years hands-on experience in radiation effects analysis, radiation testing, or space systems reliability engineering.

• Deep understanding of radiation interactions with semiconductor devices and electronic systems.

• Strong knowledge of Total Ionizing Dose (TID), Single Event Effects (SEE), and Displacement Damage (DDD).

• Experience planning and executing radiation characterization campaigns with external test facilities.

• Experience working with high-performance compute hardware, semiconductor devices, or spaceborne electronics.

• Familiarity with architectural fault tolerance and resilient distributed systems.

• Knowledge of NASA, ESA, ECSS, or MIL-STD radiation qualification standards.

• Experience with shielding optimization and materials

• Experience running radiation simulations and material characterization

Why This Role Is Different

• Own critical hardware systems, not just a small component

• Fast iteration cycles with direct path from design to hardware testing

• Work closely across disciplines in a tightly integrated team

• High autonomy and ownership with real impact on the spacecraft

• Opportunity to help define hardware systems for a new class of space infrastructure

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $185,000 – $200,000 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.

• Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

• Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) retirement savings plan

• Paid time off

• 10 paid holidays per calendar year

• Paid parental leave

• Relocation assistance if applicable

• Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks

ITAR Requirements

• Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.

Disclaimer

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.’s discretion.

Cowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.