Lead Electric Propulsion Engineer, Amazon Leo, GNC

Amazon Leo is Amazon’s low Earth orbit satellite network. Our mission is to deliver fast, reliable internet connectivity to customers beyond the reach of existing networks. From individual households to schools, hospitals, businesses, and government agencies, Amazon Leo will serve people and organizations operating in locations without reliable connectivity.

Export Control Requirement: Due to applicable export control laws and regulations, candidates must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e., current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Amazon Leo's Propulsion team designs, tests and builds its own propulsion systems - enabling current and future missions to serve customers. The Lead Electric Propulsion Engineer will provide technical leadership within Amazon Leo's Propulsion Design Engineering team as a subject matter expert for the electric propulsion system. This position demands a combination of technical depth, leadership abilities, and systems engineering experience capable of driving innovation of spacecraft propulsion technologies that ultimately enable customer service via the Amazon Leo satellite constellation. In this role, you will advise test, manufacturing, and mechanical engineers on electric propulsion best practices. Your expertise will directly influence all aspects of propulsion system design and development, including propellant storage and delivery, magnetic circuit design, cathode design, propulsion system architecture, avionics requirements, thermal management, embedded software design, and in-flight concepts of operation (CONOPs).


Key job responsibilities
The Lead Electric Propulsion Engineer supports the system and design throughout the hardware development lifecycle, from conception, prototyping, design validation & test, through production manufacturing, and flight operations. Key responsibilities will include
- impact and influence the full scope of propulsion system design, development, and production including: propellant storage and delivery; thruster magnetic circuit design; cathode design; overall system architecture trades; Propulsion avionics requirements; thermal management; system integration; and propulsion embedded software
- perform detailed system performance and risk analyses to support design trades, risk assessments, and risk mitigation plans
- act with delegated design authority to approve: production non-conformances; changes in design, test, and systems engineering artifacts; and Concepts of Operations for the Amazon Leo Propulsion system
- identify and assess technical risks based on data and outcomes in development, production, and flight operations
- lead or support test execution for development, validation, and risk assessments - especially for integrated tests across multiple large vacuum chambers suitable for testing Hall effect thrusters
- define test plans & test requirements to meet development and production test objectives
- define procedures for in-flight responses to novel off-nominal scenarios, and directly support flight operations as needed
- lead root-cause and corrective-action investigations supported by multidisciplinary engineering teams (e.g. design, manufacturing, test, quality)


A day in the life
The Lead Electric Propulsion Engineer will work within multi-disciplinary teams as the go-to source for electric propulsion knowledge. Teams will work on all aspects of propulsion system development, implementation and production and will require you, as propulsion expert, to ensure the key aspects of device operation are being properly considered and tested within constraints. You will aid in test planning, operation and data analysis, co-author test reports and disseminate impactful results.

Basic Qualifications

- Experience in developing functional specifications, design verification plans and functional test procedures
- 5+ years of experience with electric propulsion technologies through design or test

Preferred Qualifications

- Master's degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or equivalent
- Experience working with interdisciplinary teams to execute product design from concept to production
- Experience with the project management of technical projects
- 7+ years of developing electric propulsion technologies through design & test cycles
- Experience with Design of Experiments (DOE)
- Familiarity with electric circuit design
- Experience with finite element analysis for electromagnetic fields and/or fluid flow

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, WA, Redmond - 159,200.00 - 215,300.00 USD annually