Principal Mechanical Engineer (Spacecraft) jobs in United States
cer-icon
Apply on Employer Site
company-logo

Impulse Space · 2 months ago

Principal Mechanical Engineer (Spacecraft)

Impulse Space is a company focused on advanced propulsion space vehicles, and they are seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer for their Vehicle Engineering Team. The role involves cradle-to-grave ownership of hardware design, build, testing, and integration, working collaboratively with cross-functional teams.

AerospaceManufacturingSpace Travel
badNo H1BnoteU.S. Citizen Onlynote

Responsibilities

Own all aspects of hardware development and execution, from concept through launch and orbital maneuvers
Formulate the comprehensive cradle to grave Road Map for your hardware
Establish driving loads and develop efficient structural design using first principles to inform critical architecture decisions on primary and secondary structures
Perform and document analysis with clear objectives to support design intent including hand calculations, finite element analysis, and kinematic analysis
Identify, specify, and source commercial components to support design intent as required
Incorporate manufacturing trades into conceptual design to explore different construction methods including machined, formed, welded, composite, or other opportunities
Proactively guide all aspects of your hardware’s maturity, project managing your hardware’s end users, stakeholders, and adjacent contributors to ensure all aspects of the system continue to mature together and that your assumptions are well understood outside yourself and remain valid
Communicate effectively to ensure adjacent designs (such as propulsion, electrical, software and controls subsystems) are accounting for and supporting your hardware assumptions
Produce engineering drawings with required specifications for manufacturing
Generate Test Plans and provide direct support to ensure successful execution of your hardware’s structural qualification and acceptance testing
Work with internal manufacturing team and external sources to procure materials, fabricate parts, and complete assemblies
Update designs and documentation to support continuous improvement

Qualification

Mechanical designFinite Element Analysis (FEA)CAD software proficiencyGeometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T)Structural analysisCollaboration skillsCommunication skillsProject managementCreative problem solving

Required

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field
10+ years of demonstrated experience in mechanical design
Demonstrated proficiency in CAD software with ability to learn new tools
Demonstrated ability to model complex shapes including lofting and surfacing
Demonstrated ability in conceptual design, fabrication and testing of hardware
Demonstrated experience working collaboratively across different teams
Ability to communicate technical challenges, explain rationale and/or resolve concerns

Preferred

Masters' degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering
10+ years' of demonstrated mechanical design & analysis with space-flown hardware
8+ years' of demonstrated understanding of geometric dimensioning & tolerancing (GD&T)
5+ years' of demonstrated experience with Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
Capable of performing basic structural and thermal analysis in support of design
In order to be successful in this role, you should be someone who is uniquely creative, self-driven, and is able to lead his or her own projects to completion

Benefits

Long-term incentives
Stock options
Medical, vision & dental coverage
401(k) retirement plan

Company

Impulse Space

twittertwittertwitter
company-logo
Impulse Space develops in-space transportation technology for payload delivery to various orbits.

Funding

Current Stage
Growth Stage
Total Funding
$525M
Key Investors
Linse CapitalFounders FundRTX Ventures
2025-06-03Series C· $300M
2024-10-01Series B· $150M
2023-07-24Series A· $45M

Leadership Team

leader-logo
Eric Romo
President and Chief Operating Officer
linkedin
Company data provided by crunchbase