Radiation Effects Engineer - Modeling

Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity's reach into the solar system.

As a Radiation Effects Engineer focused on modeling and theory, you will own the analytical definition of our spacecraft's radiation and charging environments, transforming physical theory into actionable design constraints.

Responsibilities

• Own the analytical model of the geostationary (GEO) radiation environment, modeling trapped particle populations (AP8/AP9, AE8/AE9), solar proton fluences (Sapphire), and galactic cosmic rays (CREME96)
• Perform high-fidelity 3D Monte Carlo and sector-analysis radiation transport simulations using FASTRAD against complex spacecraft CAD assemblies to generate local, component-level dose-depth curves
• Lead analytical studies on spacecraft charging, including surface charging (using NASCAP-2k or SPIS-SC) and internal charging (using FASTRAD internal charging calculations or SPIS-IC) to prevent electrostatic discharge (ESD) risks
• Develop, scale, and maintain Python-based pipelines to process, analyze, and visualize transport simulation datasets, automating the generation of spacecraft-wide dose budgets
• Translate complex simulation data into actionable engineering guidance for shielding allocation, material selection, and electrical grounding architectures

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent
• 2+ years of industry experience using radiation environment tools such as OMERE or SPENVIS and transport tools such as FASTRAD, Geant4, or MCNP
• Solid theoretical foundation in radiation interaction with matter, including ionization, non-ionizing energy loss, charge deposition, and secondary bremsstrahlung generation
• Experience modeling spacecraft charging physics and electric field buildup in dielectrics
• Proficiency in Python for mathematical post-processing, data scraping, and modeling automation
• High-degree of ownership and technical depth; ability to evaluate complex system trade-offs with sparse initial data

Benefits

• Base pay: $120,000-$145,000 USD
• Significant equity package via incentive stock options
• High-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance
• 401(k) retirement planning
• Flexible PTO
• Free on-site catered meals