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Staff Systems Engineer

Bothell, WA

About Portal

Portal Space Systems is on a mission to expand humanity’s freedom of movement in space. We’re building the spacecraft that makes that mission possible. From our Bothell, WA headquarters, we design vehicles with the maneuverability, resilience, and adaptability needed for the next era of orbital operations. Every system we build is in service of a simple idea: space should be more accessible, responsive, and capable. Joining Portal means stepping into a team that believes in bold engineering, fast iteration, and the power of small groups to change what’s possible. If you want your work to directly shape the future of in-space mobility, join us.

About the Role

Portal Space is looking for a Staff Systems Engineer to lead avionics and spacecraft integration & test efforts across our satellite platforms. This role sits at the intersection of hardware, firmware, software, and mission operations — owning the technical rigor and tooling that ensures our spacecraft are validated, traceable, and ready for flight. You'll be a technical anchor for the integration organization, driving both hands-on debugging of complex HW/FW/SW issues and the long-term infrastructure that makes integration testing scalable and reliable.

This is a staff-level, high-autonomy role for someone who has grown from flight software or embedded systems into full-stack systems integration, and who wants to own the architecture of how a spacecraft gets proven out before it flies.

 

What You'll Do

  • Own subsystem integration & test for avionics hardware post-unit test, including board bring-up, regression validation, and iterative HW/FW/SW debugging across the stack.
  • Architect and build integration tooling — observability platforms, release synchronization systems, and automated audit/provenance tracking — that keep testbeds aligned with official software baselines and give the org full traceability of updates, operators, and debug artifacts.
  • Drive down environment drift across distributed testbeds by identifying configuration inconsistencies and establishing baseline management practices that reduce integration failures.
  • Lead Flatsat and HIL-based end-to-end testing, integrating hardware-in-the-loop systems with internal simulation environments for mission-representative validation.
  • Serve as the cross-domain integration focal point, partnering with avionics, systems, DevOps, and operations teams to translate ambiguous failures into actionable root-cause analysis and remediation plans.
  • Support RF and ground segment validation, including GNU Radio–based test environments for S-band ground stations, enabling full space-to-ground communication verification.
  • Contribute to mission-critical embedded software, including GNC hardware interfaces, mechanical payload deployment logic, CONOPS, FDIR, and mission manager mode transitions.
  • Guide power system integration, including PDU/BCU integration with the flight computer and FPGA-level regression testing for power subsystem verification.
  • Mentor and scale the integration team, setting technical standards for testbed readiness, anomaly resolution, and cross-subsystem performance assessment across all mission phases.
  • Support real-time mission operations as needed, including LEOP, commissioning, software upgrades, and anomaly investigation, leveraging deep systems knowledge gained from integration work.

 

Basic Qualifications

  • 5+ years of experience in spacecraft, avionics, or embedded systems integration, with demonstrated ownership of full integration test campaigns.
  • Background in embedded software/firmware development and hardware bring-up (board-level and subsystem-level).
  • Experience building internal tools or platforms for test observability, release management, or configuration/version control in a hardware-in-the-loop environment.
  • Experience with Flatsat, HIL, and simulation-based E2E testing environments.

 

Preferred Qualifications

  • Familiarity with GNC, power systems (PDU/BCU), FPGA-based verification, or RF/ground segment systems (GNU Radio a plus).
  • Track record of operating as a cross-functional technical leader — comfortable driving root-cause analysis across hardware, firmware, software, and operations boundaries.
  • Experience with mission operations (LEOP, commissioning, anomaly resolution) is a strong plus.
  • Ability to mentor and grow engineers, and to set technical direction for integration and test practices at an organizational level.

 

Why Portal Space

You'll help define how spacecraft integration is done — building the tools, processes, and technical culture that let the team move fast without sacrificing traceability or rigor. This is a role for someone who wants staff-level scope: technical depth, systems-level ownership, and real influence over how the org builds and flies hardware.

 

ITAR Statement

This position may involve access to technical data and defense-related materials controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

Eligibility to access ITAR-controlled items requires that candidates be U.S. persons, which includes U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and other protected individuals as defined by U.S. law.

Employment is contingent upon verification of ITAR eligibility and, where applicable, obtaining any required export authorization or license.
 

Equal Opportunity Statement

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual.

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