Head of Payload Engineering
Ascend Arc
Beaverton, OR, USA
USD 200k-275k / year
Posted on Dec 17, 2025
Head of Payload Engineering
Beaverton
Engineering
In office
Full-time
Come join us in shaping the future! Get in on the ground floor as an early leader of our Payload team as the Head of Payload Engineering developing a revolutionary satellite communications system. Lead the design, qualification, manufacturing and delivery of a high throughput satellite payload. Assemble a team of experts and provide guidance and mentoring. Lead trades and make fundamental decisions about the payload design. Take responsibility for overall payload hardware, software and performance deliverables. Collaborate across teams, following best practices and procedures.
AscendArc is a seed stage startup founded to revolutionize the satellite communications industry. We are looking for doers who want to work in a ground-breaking and fast-paced environment. Our success will depend on your energy, skill, and creativity.
Responsibilities
- Leadership of a payload design team
- Responsibility for overall performance, schedule and cost of the payload
- The ability to run system level trades and make key design decisions
- Lead qualification campaigns
- Help set up payload manufacturing and delivery
- Work closely with mechanical and bus systems peers
- Recruit key skills and foster a collaborative work environment
Qualifications
- Deep knowledge of communications satellite payload design and operations
- Knowledge and/or experience with:
- Link budgets
- Coverage analysis
- Microwave antennas and feeds
- Analog RF electronics
- Software defined radios
- FCC and ITU regulations
- Qualification of space flight hardware
- Electronics and payload manufacturing
- Undergraduate or graduate degree in engineering, science, math or a related field
- At least 10+ years of experience with satellite payload design
- Interest and ability to work in a fast-paced, startup environment
- Strong written and interpersonal skills
Compensation
The base salary range for this position is $200,000-275,000/year. When determining an individual’s compensation, we consider several factors including skillset, experience, job scope, and current market data, so pay for this role may vary from the amounts listed.
Legal Eligibility to Work
Due to U.S. export control regulations, this position is only open to “U.S. persons.” That means you must be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or have refugee/asylee status. Unfortunately, we cannot consider applicants on temporary work visas (such as H-1B, TN, O-1, etc.) for this role.
Equal Employment Opportunity
AscendArc is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factor or legally protected status.
First name *
Last name *
Email *
Phone number *
LinkedIn URL
Resume *
Click to upload or drag and drop here
Can you confirm you meet the eligibility requirements outlined below? *
Due to U.S. export control regulations, this position is only open to “U.S. persons.” This means you must be one of the following:
- A U.S. citizen
- A lawful permanent resident (green card holder)
We cannot consider applicants on temporary work visas (such as H-1B, TN, O-1, etc.).
Req ID: R38