JOIN ELFIN!

Thank you for your applying to the ELFIN lab! Our Fall 2024 applications are now closed. If you apply, you should hear from us in the next 2-3 weeks.

Fall 2024 Recruiting Schedule:
10/12: Application closes
10/14-10/18: Interviews at the ELFIN lab
10/19-10/20: Decision emails will be sent
10/21-10/25: Onboarding week!

We’re primarily looking for committed students from all disciplines interested in space exploration to fill in the following slots:

  • Electrical Engineers

    • Expected time commitment: 10 hrs/wk

    • Required: Fast learner, clear communication and teamwork skills, demonstrated workmanship and a problem-solving mindset. Major in Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related field.

    • Recommended: Experience with printed circuit board assembly and cable assembly, familiarity with analog electronic circuit design using electrical CAD software like Altium Designer and component library management, and ability to use instruments such as oscilloscope and network analyzer.

    • As a student electrical engineer, your responsibilities will include designing printed circuit boards and test fixtures for satellite avionics and science instruments. Subsystems include the flight computer, radio, global navigation module, power electronics, as well as amplifiers and analog-to-digital converters for scientific instruments. You will be mentored by 2 engineers and build several mission critical boards for an upcoming mission.

  • Flight Software Engineers

    • Expected time commitment: 10 hrs/wk

    • Required: Desire to work on embedded software and writing drivers. Fast learner.

    • Recommended: Experience with embedded C/C++ and driver code.

    • Bonus: Experience with FPGA development.

    • You’ll work to integrate GNC control software into embedded flight software and also help build up a new ground server. Your work will fly in an upcoming mission.

  • Ground Software Engineers

    • Expected time commitment: 10 hrs/week

    • Required: Fast learner, strong communication and teamwork skills

    • Recommended: Familiarity with Python. Experience with testing frameworks, CI/CD pipeline, Docker, databases, and designing complex systems.

    • You will be designing, developing, integrating, and testing the ground server (for mission operations) and other related components.

  • Systems Engineers

    • Expected time commitment: 10 hrs/wk

    • Required: an interest in system level engineering and management. A fast learner and a strong communicator

    • You will drive instrument integration and system level testing, manage resource budgets, and enforce procedures, standards, and documentation for an upcoming satellite demo

  • Fullstack Developers

    • Expected time commitment: 10 hrs/wk

    • Required: Want to work on dynamic web applications. Willingness to learn and adapt to new technologies. Quick learner and effective communicator.

    • Recommended: Personal experience with React, JS/TS, styling responsive websites, interest in designing UI, familiarity with Python and writing APIs.

    • You will be designing and developing customized internal tools and services that support the other teams and scientists at the ELFIN lab.

And in exceptional cases, we may consider recruiting for the following roles:

  • IT/DevOps Engineers

    • Expected time commitment: 10 hrs/wk

    • Required: Effective communicator, active participation in cross-functional team environments, understanding of software development practices, demonstrated interest in infrastructure and configuration management.

    • Recommended: Experience provisioning servers/databases/networks/services necessary for testing and production environments, implementing automated CI/CD pipelines, establishing monitoring systems to track system status and performance, administrating databases.

    • You will help administrate a private network, servers and databases, physical hardware, and more. You will have the opportunity to work with other engineering teams to facilitate new projects with both software and hardware.

  • Communications Engineers

    • Expected time commitment: 10 hrs/wk

    • Required: Has or is willing to acquire a Ham Radio license. 

    • You will work on setting up our radio and antenna system used to communicate with future missions.

  • Thermal/TVAC Engineers

    • Expected time commitment: 10 hrs/wk

    • Required: Attention to detail, eager to learn, good with working on a team

    • Recommended: Experience working with piping and instrumentation design/interfacing. Raspberry Pi/coding experience. 

    • You will help improve our thermal desktop raspberry pi stack for testing of instrumentation and satellites.

  • Machinist/Fabrication Technician

    • Expected time commitment: 10 hrs/wk

    • Required: Attention to detail, organizational skills, ability to work in a fast paced environment. Strong problem solving and mechanical intuition.

    • Recommended: Experience with SolidWorks or CAD, fabrication (manual mill, CNC), 10-20+ hours on a manual “Bridgeport” type mill for stock squaring and/or prototype production.

    • Bonus: CNC experience making parts, CAM programming experience.

    • You will help with developing satellites and instruments for NASA CubeSat science missions. 

  • GNC Engineers

    • Expected time commitment: 10 hrs/wk

    • Required: fast and curious learner, strong communication skills.

    • Recommended: familiarity with Python, basic understanding of orbital mechanics. 

    • You will be architecting and implementing simulations for controlling a spacecraft’s orbital trajectory. You will also help with maintaining our internal GNC web service tools. 

  • Mechanical Engineers

    • Expected time commitment: 10 hrs/wk

    • Recommended: Strong problem solving and mechanical intuition. Experience with SolidWorks. Fabrication/prototyping experience.

    • You will help with developing satellites and instruments for NASA CubeSat science missions. 

  • Management Position for ELFIN

    • Expected time commitment: 10 hrs/wk + paid summer internship at the ELFIN lab

    • Recommended: strong leadership skills, eager to learn, good with technology, can code

    • You will help manage the team using a mix of modern project management practices and NASA project management standards.

Recommended skills are meant to indicate attributes that are favored for each position, but are not hard requirements. Everyone at ELFIN will have the opportunity to work a paid internship with the lab over summer, but getting accepted does not guarantee this.

We look forward to recruiting those who have the time to put in, because there is so much to learn here at ELFIN. From the application pool, we will pick a small subset to interview. Interviews will be conducted in person at the ELFIN lab and we will send decision emails out on a rolling basis.

Thank you for your interest in the ELFIN project! Submit an application here.

 

Application FAQ:

School Year: Please indicate your year at UCLA (i.e. 1, 2, etc.).

Resume: Please include the following in your resume (if applicable and relevant):
– Work / Research Experience
– Leadership Experience
– Technical Skills
– Memberships / Organizations
– Awards and Honors

Other Questions: email us at elfin@igpp.ucla.edu