Propulsion Structural Analyst

Canadarocketcompany; Toronto; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Canada Rocket Company is seeking a structure analyst to help define propulsion and stage fluid system dynamics for Canada's sovereign launch program. This highly technical role involves hands‑on calculations, FEM modeling, and collaboration across design, analysis, development, and operation teams.

You will perform load case definitions, run FEM for stress, fatigue, and creep, and develop code‑driven analysis tools.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of structural analysis experience in aerospace or propulsion.
• Proficient with ANSYS Mechanical and FEA methods.
• Experience with cryogenic fluids and high‑temperature environments.

Responsibilities

• Perform structural analysis of propulsion and stage components including chambers, nozzles, turbopumps, and lines.
• Define load cases from steady‑state and transient engine operations and environmental conditions.
• Develop and run FEM to assess stress, deflection, buckling, and modal response under static, dynamic, and thermal loading.
• Assess fatigue, fracture, and creep life to support durability and reusability requirements.
• Generate margins of safety and document findings in formal stress reports.
• Support design trades with analysis‑driven weight and manufacturability improvements.
• Create and maintain analysis methods, tools, and scripts.
• Correlate models with test data and refine accordingly.
• Develop material allowables for additively manufactured and high‑temperature alloys.
• Contribute to anomaly investigations and root‑cause analyses when hardware misbehaves.

Skills

ANSYS Mechanical

Cryogenic Fluids

Structural Analysis

Tools

Python

Visio

CAD

Job description

Canada Rocket Company is developing Canada’s first medium‑lift launch vehicle.

We are a team of veterans from SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, ArianeGroup, Pangea Propulsion, Tesla, MDA, and more, bringing over a century of combined launch and space systems experience back to Canada.

Our mission is to provide reliable, independent access to space for Canada and its allies in a rapidly expanding global market.

Our approach is defined by pragmatic engineering:

• We utilize a single 700 kN engine that scales from light‑to‑medium‑lift via engine clustering.
• We lean on simple, proven technologies to reach orbit faster, avoiding the pitfalls of complex or novel designs.
• We test early and often, catching problems on the bench instead of at the pad.

Backed by over $20M in funding secured within our first four months, including the largest all‑Canadian seed round in the sector and an $8.3M Department of National Defence grant, we are moving with the speed and institutional backing required to meet Canada’s orbital launch needs.

About the role

Canada Rocket Company is building a sovereign launch capability for Canada. We’re looking for a structure analyst who is equally proficient in performing first order calculations as they are in running FEA or developing their own analysis code. You will work across design, analysis, development, operation, and reuse scenarios in a fast‑moving development environment. This is a highly technical role for someone who wants to be close to details, make consequential design decisions, and help establish the propulsion and stage fluid systems of an orbital launch vehicle program from the ground up.

What you’ll do

• Perform structural analysis of propulsion and stage fluid components including combustion chambers, nozzles, turbopumps, injectors, feed lines, and components.
• Define load cases and environments based on steady state and transient engine operations, system pressures, thermal conditions, vibration, acoustic, and aerodynamics.
• Develop and run finite element models (FEM) to evaluate stress, strain, deflection, buckling, and modal response under static, dynamic, and thermal loading conditions.
• Assess fatigue, fracture, and creep life for components subjected to cyclic and high‑temperature loading, supporting durability and reusability requirements.
• Generate margins of safety against yield, ultimate, and stability failure modes, and document findings in formal stress reports.
• Support design trades and provide analysis‑driven recommendations to improve weight, manufacturability, and structural robustness.
• Create and maintain analysis methods, tools, and scripts.
• Correlate analytical models with hot‑fire, proof, vibration, and component‑level test data, and refine models accordingly.
• Develop and apply material allowables, including for additively manufactured and high‑temperature alloys common in propulsion hardware.
• Contribute to anomaly investigations and root‑cause analysis when hardware behaves unexpectedly in test or flight.

Qualifications

Required

• 7+ years of experience with one or more of the following:
• Structural analysis using Ansys Mechanical.
• Experience with cryogenic fluids.
• Inclination toward a fast‑paced, resource‑constrained environment with rapid hardware development using iterative design‑build‑test cycles that are central to the engineering culture.

Preferred

• Thermal analysis proficiency.
• Fluid analysis proficiency.
• Experience with liquid bipropellant rocket engines.
• Experience with methane systems.
• Exposure to complex fluid systems as well as understanding the behaviour of the mechanisms in those systems.
• Functional proficiency in Visio, CAD, and Python.