Mechanical Engineer (Space Systems)

Location: On-site in Carlsbad, California, United States. The position is limited to U.S. citizens due to applicable U.S. federal government contract requirements.

Salary: $120,000–$150,000 per year.

Company

Hydrosat is a space and data analytics company developing an Earth observation constellation and software platform based on thermal infrared imagery for government, defense, agribusiness, climate resilience, water management, and critical infrastructure applications.

What you will do

• Develop and refine mechanical requirements for space payloads and flight hardware.
• Lead mechanical design and use thermal analysis to guide material selection, interfaces, thermal control features, and operating limits.
• Develop and maintain on-orbit thermal models covering hot and cold mission cases, solar, albedo, Earth infrared, eclipse, and internal heat loads.
• Fabricate, assemble, integrate, and test prototypes and flight hardware, including environmental testing.
• Collaborate with systems, electrical, optical, and spacecraft engineering teams to ensure integrated design performance.
• Prepare mechanical drawings, manage configuration control, conduct trade studies, present design reviews, correlate thermal models with test data, and support transition to manufacturing.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering and 5+ years of experience in space systems or related hardware.
• Proficiency with mechanical CAD tools such as SolidWorks or Creo.
• Proficiency with space thermal analysis tools such as Thermal Desktop or equivalent.
• Demonstrated experience modeling on-orbit thermal environments, including solar, albedo, Earth infrared, eclipse, and internal heat loads.
• Hands-on experience with hardware fabrication, assembly, integration, and space environmental testing, including thermal-vacuum and vibration testing.
• Familiarity with industry standards including ASME Y14.5, GSCF-STD-7000, and NASA-STD-5001B.
• U.S. citizenship is required, with proof of eligibility required as a condition of employment.

Culture & Benefits

• Employee stock options.
• Medical, vision, and dental insurance; 100% of employee premiums and 50% of dependent premiums are covered.
• Mental health support, including free therapy sessions and claims concierge service.
• 401(k) with 100% match up to 4%, vested from day one.
• Flexible unlimited PTO, 16 paid company holidays, and up to 12 weeks of fully paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave.
• Commuter and cell phone stipends plus a company discount program.