Principal Electrical Engineer (ACE)

Voyager is an innovative space, defense, and national security technology company committed to advancing and delivering transformative, mission-critical solutions. We tackle the most complex challenges to unlock new frontiers for human progress, fortify national security, and protect critical assets to lead in the race for technological and operational superiority from ground to space. 

Forge the Future: Join Voyager Technologies 

The future belongs to those who build it. At Voyager Technologies, we’re building technologies that protect lives, expand frontiers and prepare us for what’s next. And we’re doing that with people who are wired to solve, build, adapt and lead. These roles are not for the faint of heart.  

You’ll help lay the foundation for humanity's future. Join a culture where innovation thrives, curiosity is rewarded, and impact is real. We’re a company of doers, thinkers and builders, united by purpose and grounded in reality. 

If you want to put your skills to work where the stakes are real and the mission is bigger than any one person, forge the future with Voyager. 

We are seeking a Principal Electrical Engineer to lead PCB design within the Agentic Computational Engineering (ACE) platform team and to encode the realities of space-electronics PCB design and manufacturing directly into our generative engine. In this role, you will own end-to-end PCB design — schematic capture, stackup definition, high-speed and mixed-signal layout, signal and power integrity, fabrication and assembly readiness — for flight hardware, and translate that hard-won expertise into the constraints, heuristics, and feedback loops that let our AI agents design boards that can actually be built, qualified, and flown.

You will work at the intersection of PCB design, space-grade manufacturing, and AI — pairing your own hands-on board work with software development that captures DfM, DfA, and DfT considerations as code. This role is ideal for someone who has personally laid out flight boards, knows what fabricators and assembly houses actually need to see on a drawing package, and is excited to guide the team and write the software that lets an agent reason about those same trade-offs. You should be passionate about both leading a team and building this product: not just designing one more board, but multiplying your impact by encoding your judgment into a system that designs the next thousand.

You will be joining the Agentic Computational Engineering (ACE) team, a specialized group within our Advanced Technology Development organization. ACE is responsible for building Voyager’s Generative Engine – the AI-native platform that compresses complex hardware development cycles from years to days. We design agentic AI systems that pair deeply with physics simulation, test data, and modern manufacturing so that Design for Manufacturing (DfM), Design for Assembly (DfA), and Design for Test (DfT) are built into the very first line of code and the very first sketch of a design.

The position reports to the VP, AI & Autonomy and is part of the Technology and Advanced Development department based in Los Angeles, CA; Washington D.C; Seattle, WA.

This role is hybrid based in Los Angeles, CA; Washington D.C; Seattle, WA.

• Own the vision and execution of the PCB vertical of the Agentic Computational Engineering platform — defining how an agentic system should reason about end-to-end PCB design and manufacturing for space-grade flight electronics, and guiding the engineering team that implements it.
• Frame the problem space for the team: catalogue the design and manufacturing decisions a senior PCB engineer makes on a flight program (substrate and stackup, SI/PI, DfM/DfA/DfT, parts derating, fab and assembly liaison, qualification) and translate each into structured problems an agent can solve autonomously.
• Plan the PCB vertical's roadmap in lockstep with AI, simulation, manufacturing, and product leadership — sequencing capabilities, identifying high-leverage bets, and articulating clear success criteria for each agentic capability we ship.
• Educate the team continuously on space-electronics PCB design and manufacturing — running design-review walkthroughs, writing internal references, and turning your judgment into shared mental models the rest of the team can build against.
• Drive product taste for the PCB vertical: define what a great agent-generated design package looks like, what quality bar it must hit, and where the agent should defer to a human — so the team builds something that practicing PCB engineers actually trust.
• Lead testing and qualification of agent-generated designs — running design reviews, fabricating and assembling representative boards, and executing electrical, environmental (vibe, thermal, EMI/EMC), and radiation campaigns to evaluate real-world performance.
• Provide detailed, structured feedback to the team building the platform — turning every test, fab spin, and design review into specific, actionable signals that improve the agents, the constraint models, and the simulation tie-ins.
• Partner with fab houses, assembly houses, and component vendors to encode their real constraints — IPC class 3, NASA workmanship, lead times, parts availability, qualification artifacts — into the platform so generated designs are buildable on the first spin.
• Set the technical direction for AI-driven tooling in the PCB vertical (Python/C++ services, LLM-based agents, scripting), guiding engineers on how to decompose PCB-engineering judgment into agents that can make decisions autonomously and explain them.
• Represent the PCB vertical to Voyager hardware programs and external customers — communicating capabilities, limitations, and the roadmap with the credibility that comes from having designed flight hardware yourself.

In this role, the essential functions are:

If your experience aligns with our basic qualifications and you are inspired by our mission, we’d like to connect. If you don’t see the right role right now, Join Our Talent Community and stay connected as we continue to build what’s next. 

• 12+ years of hands-on PCB design experience for space, aerospace, defense, or other high-reliability electronics, including delivered flight or flight-equivalent hardware on programs you can speak to in depth.
• Demonstrated technical leadership of a PCB or hardware function — setting direction, mentoring engineers, owning quality, and being the person the rest of the team escalates to on hard design and manufacturing calls.
• End-to-end mastery of the PCB process — schematic capture, multi-layer stackup design, controlled-impedance and high-speed routing, mixed-signal and RF layout, SI/PI analysis, DfM/DfA/DfT, fab/assembly liaison, bring-up, and environmental/qualification testing — in Altium Designer or equivalent ECAD.
• Excellent product taste: a track record of deciding what to build, what quality bar to hold, and what to cut — and articulating those calls clearly to engineering, product, and program stakeholders.
• Strong communication and teaching ability — comfortable running design reviews, writing internal documentation, and educating non-PCB engineers (AI, software, simulation, manufacturing) on what matters and why.
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or C++, and demonstrated use of AI tools, LLMs, or scripting to automate engineering work — design reviews, BOM management, layout checks, parts-stress analysis, or data pipelines.
• Ability to define how an agentic system should reason about engineering problems — decomposing PCB design and manufacturing decisions into objectives, constraints, and feedback signals an autonomous agent can act on.
• Genuine passion for building this product: excited to lead a team that turns your hard-won PCB judgment into a generative engine designing the next thousand boards.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Top Secret Security Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Master's or PhD in Electrical Engineering or related discipline.
• Experience leading PCB design or hardware engineering at NASA centers, JPL, major space primes, or new-space companies; familiarity with PDR/CDR processes, NASA workmanship standards (NASA-STD-8739), SMC-S-016, MIL-STD-461G, WCCA/EPSA, and IPC class 3.
• Hands-on experience with FPGA/SoC-based single-board computers (e.g., Xilinx Ultrascale+ MPSoC, GR712, RTAX/RTG4), high-speed ADC/DAC layout, and RF front-ends across UHF through Ka-band.
• Experience defining or qualifying substrates and stackups (e.g., Rogers, Isola Tachyon/MT-40) against electrical, thermal, and radiation-environment requirements, and running radiation effects testing (TID, SEE, SEL, SEU).
• Familiarity with systems-engineering tooling (JAMA, DOORS, Jira) and EICD/requirements practices spanning box, slice, and board level.
• Track record of building or leading the build of internal tooling, design automation, or AI/LLM-based assistants that measurably improved PCB design or review throughput.
• Experience guiding software or AI engineers — translating engineering domain knowledge into specifications, evaluation criteria, and feedback that shape what gets built.
• Evidence of personal projects in electronics, robotics, or RF — the kind of work where you build the thing yourself for the love of it.

The good faith base salary range for this role is$225,000 - $290,000 at the time of this posting. Where you fall within the range depends on your experience, skills, and location. This range reflects base salary only and does not include benefits or bonus/incentive. This range may be adjusted in the future.

This position is incentive plan eligible.

Voyager offers a highly competitive total compensation package designed to support the well-being, growth, and success of our employees. Employees benefit from a flexible and comprehensive rewards program that supports both professional and personal well-being.  

• Flexible Time Off (FTO), empowering employees to take the time they need to recharge and maintain a healthy work-life balance

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and their families, with a significant portion of premiums covered by the company and many benefits paid at 100% for employees
• Flexible, affordable gym memberships with 12,700+ options nationwide including 24 Hour Fitness, EoS Fitness, Crunch Fitness, Anytime Fitness, Blink Fitness, Chuze Fitness and more! No long-term contracts and FREE on-demand workout videos before you enroll

• 401(k) retirement plan with a 50% company match on contributions up to 8%, supporting long-term financial security

• Company wellness programs that support physical and mental well-being

• Additional voluntary benefits and employee support resources
• The opportunity to work alongside a highly talented team in an innovative, mission driven environment

Voyager is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. 

Able to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran 

The statements contained in this job description are intended to describe the general content and requirements for performance of this job. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all job duties, responsibilities, and requirements. This job description is not an employment agreement or contract. Management has the exclusive right to alter the scope of work within the framework of this job description at any time without prior notice.