Mechanical Engineer (Spacecraft)

Location: Hybrid in San Jose, California, with three days per week onsite. The role requires access to export-controlled information and applicants must meet applicable U.S. export-control eligibility requirements.

Salary: $153,000–$172,000 per year, plus equity and benefits.

Company

End-to-end space systems provider designing, building, and operating LEO satellite constellations for mission-critical Earth intelligence, climate monitoring, and national security applications.

What you will do

• Own spacecraft subsystem components and assemblies from concept and CAD through flight build, integration, testing, and qualification.
• Develop design options and trade studies, document engineering decisions, and present designs in reviews.
• Drive hardware integration and test while troubleshooting build, qualification, and mission-operation issues through root-cause analysis.
• Coordinate with structural, thermal, and adjacent engineering disciplines to maintain vehicle-level integration.
• Contribute to design standards and best practices while mentoring engineers and raising the team's technical bar.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience designing, building, and testing high-reliability hardware.
• B.S. or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
• Proficiency with CAD for medium-to-large assemblies; SolidWorks is preferred.
• Working knowledge of engineering drawings, GD&T, BOMs, FAIs, and tolerance and mass budgets.
• Experience with ECO/DCO processes, PLM systems, electromechanical systems, and extensive technical documentation.
• Must be eligible to access U.S. export-controlled information under applicable ITAR/EAR requirements.

Nice to have

• Experience with spacecraft structures, mission integration, deployables, solar arrays, or precision mechanisms.
• Subsystem ownership across the full lifecycle, including flight heritage or on-orbit hardware.
• First-order structural or thermal analysis and coordination with dedicated analysis teams.
• Vendor management, design-review leadership, design-standards definition, or technical mentoring experience.
• Hands-on integration, test, and anomaly resolution of flight hardware.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time employment with equity compensation.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
• 401(k) retirement plan, short- and long-term disability, and life insurance.
• Three weeks of paid vacation for new employees, 12 paid holidays, unlimited sick time, and paid parental leave.
• Equal employment opportunity and reasonable accommodation support throughout the application process.