Senior Materials & Structures Engineer – Spaceflight

Rocket Lab; Auckland; On-site; NZD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support and visa assistance

Employee stock purchase program

Unlimited barista coffee, fruit, andsn

Job summary

Rocket Lab is seeking a Principal Development Engineer to help build the Neutron platform, a high‑performance, reusable launch vehicle. You will work with structural analysts, designers, manufacturing engineers, and prototyping teams to develop and execute design and certification strategies for metallic structures and mechanisms across Neutron.

Day to day, you will mentor engineers, manage complex projects, and communicate strategy to internal and external customers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering (or equivalent experience).
• 8+ years of industry experience in the design, development, and test of material systems in high-performance technical fields (aviation, aerospace, automotive racing, defence).
• Demonstrated experience with metallic materials and process development and qualification.
• Experience in metallic material performance and characteristics.
• Proven communication skills and the ability to build strong working relationships with colleagues and engineering professionals.
• Ability to work to tight deadlines within a high-pressure environment.
• Strong desire to learn new material to solve difficult challenges.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with mechanical engineers to rapidly assess conceptual designs, perform system trade studies, and develop integrated design solutions.
• Define and document material architectural decisions from a component to system level, including material selection, properties, and design allowables; process definition and control; inspection methods; and continuous improvement practices.
• Design and coordinate/execute testing to generate material property databases for metallic components.
• Initiate, manage, and control projects with internal and external stakeholders to deliver on time, to scope, and within budget.
• Contribute to technical decision making across conceptual, preliminary, and critical design, test readiness, change management, and risk reviews.
• Proactively identify and solve technical challenges to allow projects to proceed at pace.
• Mentor and technically assist other engineers.

Skills

8+ years experience

Strong communication

Deadline driven

Mentoring engineers

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Engineering

Tools

Siemens Team Center

NX CAD

Infor LN

Job description

Rocket Lab is seeking a Principal Development Engineer to help build the Neutron platform, a high‑performance, reusable launch vehicle. You will work with structural analysts, designers, manufacturing engineers, and prototyping teams to develop and execute design and certification strategies for metallic structures and mechanisms across Neutron.

Day to day, you will mentor engineers, manage complex projects, and communicate strategy to internal and external customers.