Job Description:
The Mechanical Engineer will be responsible for designing and building flight hardware such as propellant tanks, integration interfaces, primary structures, and structural subassemblies.
This role requires strong leadership skills, complex problem-solving abilities, and the readiness to develop subject matter expertise in design for manufacturability, specifically sheet metal and subassembly design and fabrication.
* Develop design concepts from a clean sheet and size vehicle structures based on flight loads
* Collaborate with peers from different vehicle systems to develop designs that balance mass, cost, and capability
* Create detailed designs to implement structural concepts and generate CAD models in NX for components, assemblies, and vehicle integration
* Build finite element models to assess designs in detail and analyze structures to prove they meet the needs of the vehicle
* Apply first-order hand calculations and empirical formulas to assess and iterate on designs rapidly
* Validate designs by building development articles to test individual joints and design elements for strength
* Perform structural testing on subassemblies and full sections of the airframe
* Partner with build engineers and technicians to improve designs
* Support the assembly of hardware in the factory, witness designs being brought to life daily, and watch them take flight and make history
Key Responsibilities:
This job description outlines the essential duties of this role. The responsibilities include but are not limited to:
* Detailed design and implementation of mechanical systems
* CAD modeling and finite element analysis
* Design validation and testing
* Structural analysis and simulation
Basic Qualifications:
To be considered for this role, you must have:
* Bachelor's degree in an engineering discipline
* 5+ years of experience with mechanical design and analysis (competition team or internship experience qualifies)
Preferred Skills and Experience:
A successful candidate will have:
* Experience designing, analyzing, building, and testing high-performance mechanical systems
* Experience working within interdisciplinary teams to develop solutions to challenging and complex problems
* Experience with FEA or multiphysics simulation packages (e.g., NASTRAN, ABAQUS, ANSYS)
* Experience designing and executing qualification testing
* Strong understanding of mechanical first principles and structural analysis methodologies
* Proficiency in selecting materials and manufacturing methods for mechanical components
* Analytical/scientific programming experience (i.e., Python, Matlab, Excel)
* Self-motivated with strong organizational, written, and oral communication skills