Hardware Test Engineer I, Testbeds & EGSE
About the role
Muon seeks an early-career Hardware Test Engineer to join our Testbeds & EGSE team — the group that builds the Hardware-In-The-Loop (HITL) testbeds behind every Muon mission and the electrical ground support equipment (EGSE) used to interface with our satellites during assembly, integration, and test. You'll help build and design this infrastructure alongside the team's senior engineers: assembling and bringing up testbeds for each mission, and contributing to the design of our next generation of EGSE.
This team sits at the crossroads of disciplines, and so can you: engineers with electrical, embedded software, mechanical, or industrial controls backgrounds all thrive here. What matters most is hands-on instinct, curiosity about how the whole system works, and eagerness to learn fast.
Due to the hands-on nature of this role, it requires onsite work at our San Jose location 5x days a week.
Responsibilities
Build, integrate, and bring up HITL testbed hardware — racks, avionics modules, harnessing, and external interfaces — for each mission
Assist in the design of testbed hardware and next-generation EGSE used to power, command, and monitor satellites during integration and test
Work with the electrical missions team to translate flight hardware designs (block diagrams, schematics, drawings) into each mission's testbed configuration
Debug hardware and interface issues across testbeds, working alongside electrical, software, and systems engineers
Maintain testbed support infrastructure — power, network, and lab resources — and help respond when systems go down
Create and maintain documentation: testbed architecture diagrams, build records, and checkout procedures
Coordinate with supply chain and production teams on testbed inventory and module builds
Required Qualifications
2+ years of hands-on experience building, testing, or debugging hardware in a complex electromechanical system (internships and substantial project work considered)
Background in electrical engineering, embedded software, mechanical engineering, or industrial controls
Hands-on hardware skills: assembly, wiring, and basic troubleshooting with tools like multimeters and oscilloscopes
Understanding of electronics fundamentals and common communication interfaces (e.g., UART, SPI, I2C, CAN, Ethernet)
Basic scripting or programming ability (Python or Bash)
Strong problem-solving skills and a hands-on approach to engineering challenges
Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with a strong desire to learn in a fast-paced environment
B.S. in an engineering discipline or equivalent hands-on experience
Comfort in a Linux heavy development environment
Nice-to-have Skills
Experience with HITL testbeds, test labs, or lab automation
Harness design/assembly experience, or familiarity with electrical CAD (Altium) or mechanical CAD (SolidWorks)
PCBA assembly and rework experience
Experience with industrial automation or rack-based electronics and networking
Aerospace or other high-reliability industry experience
Salary
The salary range for this role is $127,000 - $148,000, plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process.