Spacecraft Structural Engineer

iO Associates; Reading; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity participation

Private healthcare including dental &

Job summary

iO Associates are partnering with a leading space technology company to recruit a Spacecraft Structural Engineer. You will lead design analysis, testing and qualification of high‑performance spacecraft hardware across the full lifecycle from concept to flight readiness.

You will develop FEM models, perform hand calculations and work with manufacturers to ensure robust structures, vibration resistance and integration with subsystems in a collaborative team.

Qualifications

• Degree in Aerospace/Mechanical/Structural Engineering or related field.
• Minimum of 3 years' experience in structural analysis of flight hardware and aerospace structures.
• Experience analysing spacecraft structures and subsystems such as propulsion, electronics enclosures, solar arrays.
• Strong understanding of design for manufacture.
• Hands-on experience developing and validating FEM models.
• Experience with industry-standard analysis tools (NASTRAN, ANSYS, Abaqus, OptiStruct).
• Understanding of launch environments: vibration, shock, quasi-static loads.
• Experience supporting environmental test campaigns and model correlation.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings and collaborate with design teams.

Responsibilities

• Perform structural analysis of spacecraft hardware, propulsion systems and mechanical assemblies.
• Conduct static, modal, random vibration, sine vibration, shock and quasi-static load assessments.
• Develop, refine and validate FEM models for spacecraft structures.
• Perform hand calculations to support analytical models.
• Support structural sizing, stiffness optimisation and load-path analysis.
• Plan and execute environmental test campaigns, including vibration and shock testing.
• Instrument hardware with accelerometers and strain gauges and correlate test data with models.
• Review drawings and influence structural decisions with design engineers.
• Support qualification and verification activities to aerospace standards.
• Contribute to development, integration, testing and flight-readiness activities.

Skills

Structural analysis

FEM modelling

Model correlation

Reading drawings

Composite structures

Launch environments understanding

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace/Mechanical/Structural Engineering

Tools

NASTRAN

ANSYS

Abaqus

Altair OptiStruct

Job description

The Role

iO Associates are partnered with an innovative and fast-growing space technology company that is developing next-generation satellite platforms designed to operate in extremely low Earth orbit. As the organisation continues to expand its engineering team, they are seeking a Spacecraft Structural Engineer to support the design, analysis, testing and qualification of mission-critical spacecraft hardware.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a business at the forefront of satellite innovation, working across the full lifecycle of flight hardware development in a highly collaborative environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Perform structural analysis of spacecraft hardware, propulsion systems and mechanical assemblies.
• Conduct assessments covering static, modal, random vibration, sine vibration, shock and quasi-static load cases.
• Develop, refine and validate finite element models (FEM) for spacecraft structures.
• Perform hand calculations to support and verify analytical models.
• Support structural sizing, stiffness optimisation and load-path analysis.
• Plan and execute environmental test campaigns, including vibration and shock testing.
• Instrument hardware using accelerometers and strain gauges, and correlate test data against analytical models.
• Review engineering drawings and collaborate with design engineers to influence structural decisions.
• Support qualification and verification activities in line with recognised aerospace and space industry standards.
• Contribute throughout development, integration, testing and flight-readiness activities.

Your Profile

• Degree qualified in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Structural Engineering or a related discipline.
• Minimum of 3 years experience in structural analysis of flight hardware, spacecraft, launch vehicles, missiles or other high-performance aerospace structures.
• Experience analysing spacecraft structures and subsystems such as propulsion systems, electronics enclosures, solar arrays or similar assemblies.
• Strong understanding of design for manufacture principles.
• Hands-on experience developing and validating FEM models.
• Experience using industry-standard analysis tools such as NASTRAN, ANSYS, Abaqus or Altair OptiStruct.
• Understanding of launch environments, including vibration, shock and quasi-static load requirements.
• Practical experience supporting environmental test campaigns and model correlation activities.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings and work closely with design teams.
• Experience working with composite structures and materials is desireable.
• Background in metallic and composite materials testing is desireable.

What’s on Offer?

• Equity participation.
• Private healthcare including dental and optical cover.
• Hybrid working arrangement.
• Relocation assistance.
• Opportunity to work on cutting-edge spacecraft programmes from concept through to launch.
• Significant technical ownership and influence within a growing engineering team.

If you’re a structural engineer looking to play a key role in the development of next-generation space systems and want to work in a highly ambitious, fast-scaling environment, we’d love to hear from you.