Engineering Manager, Vehicle Structures & TPS

inversionspace; California (MO); On-site; USD 125,000 - 183,000; Full time

Job summary

Inversion seeks a Manager of Arc Vehicle Mechanical to lead the Arc Vehicle Mechanical team in Playa Vista, CA. You will own mechanical design, analysis, build support, integration, and qualification of Arc vehicle structures, mechanisms, and TPS.

The role reports to the Chief Engineer, requires 8+ years in aerospace and 2+ years of people management, and requires in-office presence. California base salary ranges from $125,000 to $183,000.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering or equivalent.
• 8+ years of aerospace vehicle structures, mechanisms, TPS experience.
• 2+ years of formal people-management experience.
• Strong background in mechanical design, structural mechanics, load paths, joints, fasteners, materials, and manufacturing processes.
• Experience managing complex aerospace programs through design, environmental qualification, and flight operations.
• Excellent verbal and written communication and cross-organizational alignment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Arc Vehicle Mechanical team's daily execution, technical direction, people management, and engineering development.
• Own the technical delivery of the Arc primary vehicle structure, associated mechanisms, and TPS manufacture build and integration.
• Partner with Production on manufacturability, tooling, inspection methods, process qualification, production capacity, and long-lead material planning.
• Coordinate and define mechanical interfaces, installation requirements, access provisions, load paths, and verification responsibilities.
• Oversee structural analysis and validation, including first-principles calculations, finite-element analysis, joint assessment, tolerance analysis, and test correlation.
• Lead planning and execution of structural, mechanical, and TPS development, qualification, acceptance, and vehicle-level testing.
• Support integrated vehicle builds, environmental testing, shipment, launch preparation, recovery operations, and post-flight hardware assessment as required.
• Drive root-cause investigations and corrective actions when necessary, including build non-conformances, test anomalies, and vehicle integration issues.
• Maintain configuration discipline across CAD, drawings, bills of materials, interface definitions, TPS process documentation, tooling, and verification evidence.
• Build and mentor a high-performing mechanical engineering team.

Skills

Mechanical design

Structural analysis

Load paths

Joints & fasteners

Manufacturing processes

Communication skills

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's in Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering

Master's/PhD in related field

Job description

Inversion seeks a Manager of Arc Vehicle Mechanical to lead the Arc Vehicle Mechanical team in Playa Vista, CA. You will own mechanical design, analysis, build support, integration, and qualification of Arc vehicle structures, mechanisms, and TPS.

The role reports to the Chief Engineer, requires 8+ years in aerospace and 2+ years of people management, and requires in-office presence. California base salary ranges from $125,000 to $183,000.