Design Reliability Engineer - System Safety

stokespacetechnologies; Kent (WA); On-site; USD 129,000 - 328,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Medical, dental, vision insurance

Life and disability insurance

401(k) with employer match

Paid time off

Holidays

Parental leave

On-site gym / wellness stipend

Dog friendly offices

Job summary

Stoke is seeking a Design Reliability Engineer focused on system safety for the Nova launch system. You will define processes for FHA, FMECA, FTA and HAZOP, lead safety analyses, and drive reliability improvements across mechanical, electrical and software domains.

You will align with FAA, Space Force and customers to ensure complete analyses, while coordinating with other engineers to manage cross-disciplinary design risks and keep schedules fast and focused.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering or a similar field.
• 5+ years in an engineering role on complex, high-reliability products.
• Strong fundamentals in system safety and interdisciplinary teamwork.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to lead and collaborate.

Responsibilities

• Develop processes and templates for FHA, FMECA, FTA, and HAZOP analyses.
• Lead system safety analyses for the Nova team across subsystems.
• Identify reliability improvements and propose scalable solutions.
• Estimate component-level reliability and overall failure probabilities.
• Communicate results and refine approaches with FAA, Space Force, and customers.
• Coordinate with engineers to manage interdisciplinary design risks.

Skills

Aerospace engineering

System safety

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Attention to detail

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering or related field

Job description

At Stoke, we believe a thriving space economy will enable a vibrant, sustainable, and equitable future here on Earth. That is why we're building Nova, our fully and rapidly reusable launch vehicle. Designed for daily flight, Nova tackles the core challenges of space transportation by reducing cost, increasing availability, and improving reliability. By radically lowering launch costs and increasing flight cadence, we're helping create a truly scalable space industry.

Description

As a Design Reliability Engineer with a focus on system safety, you will be a key player in the integration of teams and products across all areas of the Nova launch system. You will define processes and tools to perform system safety and reliability analyses such as Functional Hazard Analyses (FHA), Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analyses (FMECA), Fault Tolerance Analysis (FTA), and Hazard and Operability Studies (HAZOP). You will work closely with engineers across the Nova team to perform system safety analyses on vehicle stages and subsystems, and to ensure consistency and completeness of these analyses across the vehicle. You will facilitate cross-disciplinary action and problem solving to improve system reliability. You must be organized, a good communicator, and excellent at identifying and solving problems related to the integration of complex systems. You must be ready to stay focused, move fast, self-direct, and learn on the fly.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop processes, tools, and templates for performing FHA, FMECA, FTA, and HAZOP analyses
• Lead the overall effort for system safety analyses for the Nova team, and partner with responsible engineers across the system to complete analyses for their products
• Identify problems and propose solutions to improve Nova launch system reliability, including novel solutions that go beyond simple component-level fault tolerance but improve system-level reliability without adding design complexity
• Estimate component-level quantitative reliability and determine overall probability of various vehicle functional failure modes using the outputs of the FTA and FMECA
• Communicate analysis results, discuss feedback, and refine analysis approaches with external entities including FAA, Space Force, launch service customers, and others
• Partner with other Design Reliability Engineers and the Nova product development teams to facilitate communication between teams, negotiate interfaces, and identify and manage interdisciplinary design risks

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering or similar field
• 5+ years of experience in an engineering role on a complex product requiring high performance, high reliability, and a rapid development process
• Exceptional command of fundamentals of system safety
• Proficiency working with interdisciplinary technical teams, including mechanical, electrical, and software engineers
• Attention to detail
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Ability to lead and follow

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD in aerospace engineering or similar field
• Experience with system safety standards and methods per MIL-STD-882E
• Experience with launch and/or reentry licensing with the FAA per 14 CFR Part 450

Benefits

• Equity - We are pleased to offer equity in the form of stock options to all full‑time employees.
• Comprehensive benefits program including subsidized medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Company‑paid life and disability insurance
• 401(k) plan with employer match
• 4 weeks' Paid Time Off
• Holidays - 10 days (including an end‑of‑year closure)
• Paid Parental Leave
• On‑site gym or monthly wellness stipend (depending on location)
• Dog friendly offices!

Compensation

Target Levels:

• Level 3: $129,150 - $193,620
• Level 4: $151,305 - $252,105
• Level 5: $176,505 - $327,810

Our job posts are intentionally written to attract a wide variety of experience levels, and we make decisions about the right fit on a per‑candidate basis.

Your actual level and base salary will be decided based on your specific experience and skill level.

ITAR Requirements

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Equal Opportunity

The Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer, including with respect to disability and veteran status. It is committed to compliance with all equal opportunity laws, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and Title VII. It does not discriminate on the basis of nationality, race, citizenship, immigration s