Apex Space
Senior Propulsion Engineer, Hall-Effect Thrusters
$140K–$195K
Los Angeles · Senior · Full-time · Posted Sep 28, 2026
- Experience
- 6+ years of relevant electric propulsion experience with a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, OR a Ph.D. in a related field with 3+ years of relevant industry experience.
- Education
- Bachelor’s degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, plasma/propulsion engineering, applied physics, or a related field.
- Visa sponsorship
- Applicants must qualify as a U.S. Person or be able to obtain required U.S. export authorizations.
About the job
Owns the design, testing, qualification, flight integration, and production scaling of Hall-effect thrusters for electric propulsion systems.
What you'll do
- Lead Hall thruster design, performance modeling, and test and life-qualification campaigns.
- Integrate thrusters with cathodes, propellant feed systems, PPUs, and spacecraft teams; support flight hardware and on-orbit operations.
- Improve manufacturability and production processes, investigate failures, and mentor propulsion engineers.
What they ask for
- Bachelor’s degree in a related field; the posting also specifies a Ph.D. alternative for experience qualification.
- Substantial, demonstrable focus on Hall-effect thruster design, development, and testing.
- Hands-on Hall thruster physics and design knowledge, plus experience planning and executing vacuum-facility EP test campaigns.
- Must meet the stated U.S. Person or export authorization eligibility requirement.
Nice to have
- Experience taking a Hall thruster through flight qualification and on-orbit operation.
- Experience with Hall thruster simulation tools, alternative propellants, or design for manufacturing.
Pay
$140K – $195K (base salary)
Tools
Hall-effect thrusters, particle-in-cell, hybrid codes, magnetic FEA, PPU
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative