Spacecraft Electronic Engineer

Spacecraft electronic engineers design, build and test the electronics that go inside satellites, launch vehicles and space instruments - things like power supplies, onboard computers, radio communications hardware, sensor electronics and the wiring harnesses that connect it all. They work for satellite manufacturers, component and subsystem suppliers, space agencies and research institutes, usually as part of a larger team where each person owns a specific box or board rather than the whole spacecraft. Much of the job is proving on the ground, through analysis and environmental testing, that hardware will survive launch and years in orbit where nobody can repair it.

Starting salary: £28k–£35k
Live graduate jobs: Search all jobs
Main way in: Graduate schemes at satellite manufacturers, space subsystem…
They usually ask for: A degree in electronic or electrical engineering is the…

Approximate graduate salary

Typically around £28,000–£35,000 to start, though this varies widely by employer, location and whether the role sits in a large prime contractor, a defence group or a smaller space company. Roles clustered around the main UK space hubs and those requiring security clearance can sit at the upper end or above it, and an MEng or master's sometimes lifts the starting point slightly.

What you'd actually do

Designing or reviewing circuit schematics and printed circuit board (PCB) layouts in electronic design software, with constraints that ground-based electronics do not have - radiation tolerance, limited power budgets and no convection cooling in vacuum
Running simulations and worst-case analysis: checking that a circuit still works when every component is at the edge of its tolerance, after years of radiation exposure, at the hottest and coldest temperatures the orbit will produce
Selecting parts from approved lists - space-qualified or 'rad-hard' components, or commercial parts that have been screened and tested - and writing the justification for why a given part is acceptable
Hands-on lab work: bringing up a new board for the first time, probing with oscilloscopes and spectrum analysers, debugging why a design does not behave the way the simulation said it would

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Supporting environmental test campaigns - thermal vacuum chambers, vibration shakers, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing - which often means long days or night shifts in a cleanroom watching telemetry and writing up anomalies
Writing and reviewing documentation: design descriptions, test procedures, test reports, non-conformance reports. Space work is heavily documented because the customer is paying for evidence as much as hardware
Sitting in design reviews with customers, prime contractors or agencies, where your design is picked apart in detail by people who have done this before

How graduates get in

Graduate schemes at satellite manufacturers, space subsystem suppliers and large defence/aerospace groups with space divisions - the most common structured route, usually advertised in autumn for the following summer, sometimes as a rotational scheme covering several engineering teams
Direct entry as a junior or graduate electronics engineer, including at smaller space companies and the many SMEs in UK space clusters, which often recruit when a project is funded rather than on an annual cycle
Via a summer internship or industrial placement year during an engineering degree - very common, and placement students are frequently offered graduate roles afterwards. A placement in general electronics still counts strongly
Sideways from general electronics: joining an aerospace, defence, test and measurement or RF company first and moving into space work after a few years. This is a realistic and common route, since the core electronics skills transfer and space-specific knowledge is learned on the job

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Through a relevant master's (MSc in space systems engineering, astronautics, satellite engineering or RF/microwave engineering) - useful for standing out or for converting from a physics background, but rarely a strict requirement for electronics roles
Via PhD or research institute work, more common for instrument electronics, detector readout and science payload roles than for platform engineering

What employers ask for

A degree in electronic or electrical engineering is the standard expectation. Physics, engineering physics, mechatronics, aerospace engineering with a strong electronics component, or computer engineering are also accepted, especially where you can show hands-on circuit experience. Unlike many graduate sectors, the subject genuinely matters here
Most employers ask for a 2:1, with a 2:2 sometimes accepted where there is strong practical experience. MEng versus BEng matters mainly for chartership timing rather than for getting hired
Demonstrable hands-on electronics - university projects, Formula Student, CubeSat or rocketry societies, amateur radio, personal PCB projects. Employers look for evidence you have actually built and debugged something, not only analysed it on paper
Security clearance eligibility is frequently required because space work often sits alongside defence or government programmes. This usually means UK residency for a set period and can rule out or delay some candidates - check the advert, as requirements vary by employer and programme

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Some roles require export control compliance (ITAR/EAR for US-origin technology, UK export licensing), which can affect which nationalities can work on which programmes. This is an employer-by-employer, project-by-project issue
Working towards Chartered Engineer (CEng) status with the IET or IMechE/RAeS is encouraged at most larger employers; an accredited degree makes this route simpler

Skills that matter

Analogue and digital circuit design fundamentals

You will be designing power conversion, signal conditioning and interface circuitry where a misunderstanding of a transistor or op-amp behaviour becomes an unfixable fault in orbit.

Lab debugging and test instrumentation

A large share of the job is working out why a board does something unexpected, using oscilloscopes, signal generators and logic analysers rather than simulation alone.

Worst-case and failure analysis thinking

Spacecraft cannot be repaired, so you are constantly asked to prove a design still functions under component drift, radiation degradation and temperature extremes, and to identify single points of failure.

Technical writing and documentation discipline

Deliverables to customers and agencies are documents - design justifications, test procedures, anomaly reports - and sloppy traceability causes real programme delays.

Understanding of the space environment

Radiation effects, vacuum outgassing, thermal cycling and launch vibration drive design decisions that would make no sense for terrestrial electronics.

Working within a systems engineering framework

Your box has mass, power, thermal and interface budgets negotiated with other teams, so you need to argue your case and accept constraints rather than optimise your subsystem in isolation.

Embedded software or FPGA literacy

Much spacecraft electronics is mixed hardware-firmware, and being able to read or write VHDL, Verilog or embedded C makes you far more useful on avionics and payload teams.

Putting these on a CV? We counted which skills 12,914 live graduate adverts ask for, and what to do with the answer — part of our application advice.

Where it leads

Graduate or junior engineer: supporting a senior engineer's design, running tests, writing procedures and reports, learning the company's design standards and the relevant space standards (ECSS is the European framework most UK space work follows).
Engineer, typically after a couple of years: owning a board or a small subsystem end to end, from requirements to delivered and tested hardware, and representing it at reviews.
Senior engineer: leading the design of a complete unit, mentoring juniors, making architectural trade-off decisions and interfacing directly with the customer. Timescales vary widely - some reach this within four or five years, others take longer, and it depends heavily on how many projects you get through, since space programmes can run for years.
A fork in the path: technical specialist (deep expertise in power electronics, RF, radiation effects or FPGA design, sometimes leading to principal or chief engineer roles) or management/systems (lead engineer, subsystem lead, project engineer, engineering manager). Some move into systems engineering, product assurance or bid and proposal work.
Later options include chief engineer or technical authority roles, consultancy, moving to a space agency or regulator, moving into a start-up or founding one, or transferring the skills into automotive, medical devices, defence or semiconductor work where high-reliability electronics experience is valued.

What people get wrong

“You will be working with cutting-edge, state-of-the-art chips.”

Flight electronics are often deliberately conservative and based on older, well-characterised, radiation-tolerant parts, because a component needs a long track record and proven radiation performance before anyone will trust it on a mission. Newer commercial parts do get used, particularly on small satellites and short-life missions, but they then need extra screening and testing to justify them.

“It is mostly design work at a computer.”

Design is only one phase. Enormous amounts of time go into testing, documenting, reviewing and investigating anomalies, and into meetings where you defend design decisions. Some engineers spend more hours in a cleanroom or test facility than at a schematic.

“You need to study aerospace or space engineering to get in.”

For electronics roles, employers generally want a solid electronic engineering education first. The space-specific knowledge - radiation effects, ECSS standards, thermal vacuum testing - is almost always taught on the job. A space master's helps you signal interest but does not substitute for circuit competence.

“You will see your work launch soon after you design it.”

Spacecraft programmes often run for years between design and launch, and some designs get cancelled or reused. Graduates frequently join a programme mid-way and work on hardware whose concept predates them. The small-satellite and constellation side of the industry moves considerably faster, which is one reason people choose it.

Where this varies

The experience differs a lot depending on where you land. At large satellite primes and established subsystem suppliers, work is highly process-driven, documentation-heavy and specialised - you may own one circuit for a long time, with formal reviews and long programme timescales. At small satellite companies and space start-ups, you will likely touch several subsystems, build and test your own hardware, and work to faster cycles with more commercial off-the-shelf parts and less formal paperwork, but with less mentoring and more risk. Research institutes and university-linked instrument teams sit somewhere else again, with science payload electronics, one-off builds and a more academic culture. Geographically, UK space electronics work is concentrated in a handful of clusters rather than spread evenly across the country, so relocation is often part of the decision. Finally, the degree to which a role is defence-adjacent varies enormously and determines how much clearance and export-control red tape you deal with.

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General guidance about the role across the UK market, not about any specific employer. Entry routes and requirements vary — always check the individual job advert.