Principal Mixed-Signal Design Engineer, Data Converters

Job description

K2 is building the largest and highest-power satellites ever flown, unlocking performance levels previously out of reach across every orbit. Backed by over $1 billion in total funding from leading investors including Altimeter Capital, ICONIQ, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, and T. Rowe Price — and with over $1 billion in signed contracts across commercial and US government customers, we're mass-producing the highest-power satellite platforms ever built for missions from LEO to deep space.

The rise of heavy-lift launch vehicles is shifting the industry from an era of mass constraint to one of mass abundance, and we believe this new era demands a fundamentally different class of spacecraft. Engineered to survive the harshest radiation environments and to fully capitalize on today's and tomorrow's massive rockets, K2 satellites deliver unmatched capability at constellation scale and across multiple orbits.

With multiple launches in 2027 and plans to scale to 100 satellites a year, we're Building Bigger — helping develop the solar system and build toward a Kardashev Type II (K2) civilization. If you are a motivated individual who thrives in a fast-paced environment and you're excited about contributing to the success of a high-growth Series D-funded company, we'd love for you to apply.

About the Role   We are looking for a Principal Mixed-Signal Design Engineer, Data Converters to lead the architecture and development of wideband, high-performance data converters and associated analog front-ends for advanced mixed-signal SoCs. This is a hands-on technical leadership role with significant ownership—from architecture and technology tradeoffs through circuit design, integration, and silicon validation.

Responsibilities   - Architect and design high-speed, wideband ADCs and DACs targeting demanding RF and mixed-signal applications.   - Lead converter architecture selection and trade studies, balancing bandwidth, sampling rate, resolution/ENOB, linearity, power, area, and implementation risk.   - Design supporting wideband analog front-ends, including ADC input networks, track-and-hold/sampling circuits, DAC output stages, references, biasing, clocking, and calibration circuitry.   - Develop high-performance circuits in advanced FinFET CMOS technologies and address the unique analog design challenges associated with deeply scaled nodes.   - Own designs from concept and behavioral modeling through transistor-level implementation, layout, verification, and silicon characterization.   - Develop calibration and correction techniques for impairments and work closely with DSP/systems engineers on mixed-signal algorithms.   - Define converter specifications and interfaces in collaboration with systems, RF, digital, package, and verification teams.   - Drive converter integration into complex mixed-signal SoCs, including power, clocking, signal integrity, and physical implementation considerations.   - Help establish data-converter design methodologies, IP, simulation infrastructure, and best practices from the ground up.   - Provide technical leadership and mentorship to analog and mixed-signal engineers.

Qualifications   - MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering or related field with significant industry experience in high-performance analog/mixed-signal IC design.   - Deep expertise designing GHz-class and/or multi-GS/s ADCs and DACs.   - Strong understanding of converter architectures such as SAR, pipeline, time-interleaved, flash/folding, current-steering DACs, and hybrid architectures.   - Demonstrated ability to translate system requirements into converter architectures and circuit-level specifications.   - Strong experience with wideband analog/RF signal paths, sampling circuits, clocking, references, and low-noise/high-linearity circuit design.   - Experience designing high-performance analog circuits in FinFET technologies.   - Strong understanding of converter impairments, including jitter, noise, distortion, mismatch, timing skew, interleaving errors, and calibration.   - Experience taking complex analog/mixed-signal ICs from architecture through tapeout and silicon bring-up.   - Deep proficiency with industry-standard analog/mixed-signal design, simulation, and verification tools.

Preferred Qualifications   - Experience with RF-sampling or direct-RF ADC/DAC architectures.   - Experience developing converters with multi-GHz instantaneous bandwidth.   - Experience with digitally assisted analog design and background/foreground calibration.   - Experience integrating converters into large digital-heavy SoCs.   - Experience with advanced packaging, high-speed I/O, and signal-integrity considerations for wideband mixed-signal devices.   - Experience helping build new methodologies and silicon platforms from the ground up.

Compensation and Benefits: - Base salary range for this role is $190,000 – $285,000 + equity in the company - Salary will be based on several factors including, but not limited to: knowledge and skills, education, and experience level - Comprehensive benefits package including paid time off, medical/dental/vision/ coverage, life insurance, paid parental leave, and many other perks

If you don’t meet 100% of the preferred skills and experience, we encourage you to still apply! Building a spacecraft unlike any other requires a team unlike any other and non-traditional career twists and turns are encouraged!

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

Export Compliance

As defined in the ITAR, “U.S. Persons” include U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (i.e., Green Card holders), and certain protected individuals (e.g., refugees/asylees, American Samoans). Please consult with a knowledgeable advisor if you are unsure whether you are a “U.S. Person.”

The person hired for this role will have access to information and items controlled by U.S. export control regulations, including the export control regulations outlined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR). The person hired for this role must therefore either be a “U.S. person” as defined by  22 C.F.R. § 120.15 or otherwise eligible for a federally issued export control license.

Equal Opportunity

K2 Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with K2 Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.