Chief Engineer, Orbital Propulsion & Vehicle Systems

Gravitics, Inc; Denver (CO); Vor Ort; USD 210.000 - 250.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

Gravitics, Inc. is seeking a Chief Engineer to own an orbital transfer vehicle from architecture through first flight. You will supervise design, integrate propulsion, and manage budgets while coordinating with customers and launch providers.

The role demands deep propulsion expertise and strong technical leadership across the vehicle lifecycle. You will lead a team for system trades, analysis, and tests, ensuring flight readiness and robust risk management.

Qualifikationen

• Direct experience with in-space bi-propellant chemical propulsion systems, with at least one system taken from design through qualification and flight.
• Demonstrated technical leadership of a spacecraft, stage, or major vehicle subsystem across its full lifecycle.
• Experience technically managing an external supplier of engines, thrusters, or other complex flight hardware, including specifications, design reviews, and acceptance.
• Ability to understand structural, fluid, and thermal designs from first principles.
• Working knowledge of spacecraft systems engineering: requirements, interfaces, verification, and risk management.
• Familiarity with CAD and FEA packages such as NX and NASTRAN or similar.
• 14+ years of industry experience.
• Bachelor's degree in an applicable field.

Aufgaben

• Own the orbital transfer vehicle's system architecture, technical baseline, and requirements, from mission needs down to subsystem and component level.
• Lead system-level trades across propulsion, structures, thermal, avionics, GNC, and software, balancing performance, mass, schedule, cost, and risk.
• Lead all design, development, and integration efforts, including major design reviews, vehicle assembly, integration and test, and flight readiness.
• Act as the vehicle's technical authority with customers, launch providers, and government partners.
• Own the technical risk register, schedule, and budget for the vehicle.
• Lead anomaly investigations to root cause and drive the fixes back into design, build, test, and operations.
• Architect a high delta-v bi-propellant propulsion system: main engine, reaction control, propellant storage and management, pressurization, and feed.
• Perform and review fluids, thermal, and structural analyses to define and verify system and component behavior, including delta-v and propellant budgets.
• Own detailed requirements for tanks, valves, manifolds, tubing, and thrusters.
• Define the qualification and acceptance test strategy, from component tests through integrated hotfire and vehicle-level testing.
• Work with manufacturing to build, integrate, and accept production hardware for flight.
• Support propellant loading, launch campaign, and on-orbit propulsion operations.

Kenntnisse

Propulsion systems

System architecture

Leadership

Supplier management

Thermal analysis

Flight hardware

Requirements management

Ausbildung

Bachelor's degree

Tools

NX

NASTRAN

Jobbeschreibung

Gravitics, Inc. is seeking a Chief Engineer to own an orbital transfer vehicle from architecture through first flight. You will supervise design, integrate propulsion, and manage budgets while coordinating with customers and launch providers.

The role demands deep propulsion expertise and strong technical leadership across the vehicle lifecycle. You will lead a team for system trades, analysis, and tests, ensuring flight readiness and robust risk management.