Chief Engineer, Spacecraft Propulsion & Vehicle Lead Hybrid

Gravitics Inc; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 210,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Gravitics Inc. is seeking a Senior Chief Engineer (Spacecraft) to own the orbital transfer vehicle from architecture through first flight.

You will lead design, development, integration, and propulsion systems, acting as the technical authority with customers, launch providers, and government partners. You will manage the technical risk, schedule, and budget, drive system trades across propulsion, structures, and software, and mentor a hands-on product development team through major design

Qualifications

• 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.

Responsibilities

• 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.

Job description

Gravitics Inc. is seeking a Senior Chief Engineer (Spacecraft) to own the orbital transfer vehicle from architecture through first flight.

You will lead design, development, integration, and propulsion systems, acting as the technical authority with customers, launch providers, and government partners. You will manage the technical risk, schedule, and budget, drive system trades across propulsion, structures, and software, and mentor a hands-on product development team through major design