AstranisCommunications/DSP Associate Engineer (Summer 2026)
Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today, Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe— large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military. With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts.
Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization. Astranis has raised over $750 million from some of the world’s best investors, from Andreessen Horowitz to Blackrock and Fidelity, and employs a team of 450 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.
Communications/DSP Associate Engineer (Summer 2026)
Associate programs at Astranis typically last for twelve weeks, and are hourly roles designed for students who are currently enrolled at a four-year university.
As an Associate, you will have an amazing opportunity to work on hard problems — we pride ourselves on giving everyone at Astranis a chance to do meaningful work on challenging projects, no matter their seniority. Many past interns have designed and tested hardware/software that is heading to space on our first satellite, and many of them are now full-time employees at Astranis.
If you have not yet graduated from a four-year university, please apply to be an Intern.
Role
- Design signal processing for custom software defined radio hardware (ex. channelization, equalization, PA linearization, gain control, carrier synchronization, symbol mapping, framing, channel coding/FEC, etc)
- Work closely with FPGA developers to implement and test the signal processing on radio hardware
- Model the end-to-end radio system from earth to space, and back.
- Drive radio architecture trade studies, run link budgets, optimize the radio system for maximum performance for dozens of markets and use cases around the world
Requirements
- A passion for working in a fast-paced environment and constantly learning
- Strong fundamentals in "signals and systems" (basic transforms, filters, aliasing, analysis in both continuous and discrete domains, interpolation, decimation, etc)
- Strong fundamentals in digital communications (modulation, coding, synchronization, fading, doppler, multiple access, channel capacity, etc)
- Familiar with software development (some experience writing software for DSP, MCU, and/or FPGA, experience in one or more scripting languages)
- Familiar with analog concepts (amplifiers, analog filters, gain and delay variation, reflections, compression, etc)
- Experience working with signal generator, signal analyzer, network analyzer, oscilloscope, etc
- US Citizenship or Green Card
- Don't meet them all? Not a problem. Please apply even if you do not meet all these criteria.
Bonus
- Experience with software defined radios
- Experience with Python
- Experience with GNU Radio
- Experience with FPGA development (and/or embedded C)
The base salary for this position is $1,925 per week.
Base Salary
$1,925—$1,925 USD
U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required
(To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))
Our mission and our products are meant to connect the world and everyone in it, regardless of gender, race, creed, or any other distinction. We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we encourage all people to join our team and bring their unique perspective to help make us stronger.