Power Systems Engineer

Location: Torrance, CA

Department: Engineering

Company Overview

Fortastra designs and delivers resilient, high-performance spacecraft that safeguard critical orbital assets and ensure freedom of action in space. We integrate advanced autonomy, sensing, and control into systems engineered for reliability, speed, and scale. Our culture values simplicity, accountability, and disciplined execution. We expect leaders to think systemically, act decisively, and take ownership of mission outcomes. Aggressive innovation. Disciplined execution. Strength among the stars.

Team / Department

You will join Fortastra’s Engineering Division and serve as the technical owner for spacecraft electrical power systems across our spacecraft portfolio.

The Role 

Fortastra is seeking a Power Systems Engineer to lead the development, analysis, integration, and performance of spacecraft electrical power systems in support of rapidly developing autonomous spacecraft. This role is responsible for ensuring spacecraft power generation, storage, distribution, and consumption are properly designed, integrated, and managed throughout the mission lifecycle. You will work closely with avionics, flight software, GN&C, propulsion, and payload teams to ensure spacecraft power capabilities align with mission requirements. The ideal candidate combines deep technical knowledge of spacecraft electrical power systems with a systems-level understanding of how power impacts overall spacecraft performance and mission success.

Key Responsibilities

• Own spacecraft power budgets across all mission phases, including nominal, contingency, and degraded operations
• Develop and maintain spacecraft electrical power system architectures and requirements
• Perform solar array sizing, battery sizing, energy balance analysis, and state-of-charge modeling
• Define and manage interfaces between power systems and spacecraft subsystems including avionics, propulsion, payloads, communications, and flight computers
• Support spacecraft design trades involving power, mass, thermal, and operational constraints
• Develop mission power profiles and assess system performance throughout all phases of flight
• Support hardware integration, environmental testing, and spacecraft verification activities
• Investigate and resolve power system anomalies during test and flight operations
• Collaborate closely with suppliers and hardware vendors supporting power subsystem development

Qualifications & Skills

• BS. or higher in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or related technical field
• 5+ years of spacecraft electrical power system experience
• Demonstrated experience developing spacecraft power budgets and energy analyses
• Experience with spacecraft batteries, solar arrays, power management electronics, and power distribution architectures
• Strong understanding of spacecraft subsystem interactions and mission-level performance impacts
• Experience supporting spacecraft integration and test activities
• Proficiency with MATLAB, Python, Excel, STK, or equivalent engineering analysis tools
• Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, high-accountability engineering environments
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Experience with small satellites, national security space, or defense space programs preferred 

Requirements

• On-site role (no remote or hybrid arrangements)
• U.S. Citizenship required
• Ability to obtain or hold an active TS/SCI clearance desired

Why Fortastra?

Join a small, high-impact team building the next generation of autonomous orbital control systems for national security space. At Fortastra, leaders take ownership of every phase of development, from first principles through flight, and directly shape the future of resilient, mission-critical spacecraft autonomy.