Flight Mechanisms Engineer — Spacecraft Hardware Lead

Cowboy Space Corp.; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Paid time off

Paid holidays

Parental leave

Relocation assistance

Daily lunch in office

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. is seeking a Mechanisms Engineer to own a critical mechanism subsystem from concept to flight. You will collaborate across propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and operations to design, build, and validate mechanisms for ascent, entry, landing, and reuse.

You will balance weight, strength, and manufacturability while meeting strict lifecycle requirements. Ideal candidates have deep experience in flight hardware and hands-on prototyping, with CAD/FEA proficiency and a U.S.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience designing mechanisms or mechanical systems for flight vehicles or high-performance hardware.
• Experience taking hardware from concept through build, integration, and test.
• Strong fundamentals in structural mechanics, kinematics, materials, and manufacturing processes.
• Proficiency with CAD (NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, or Creo) and creating engineering drawings to ASME Y14.5 GD&T standards.
• Proficiency with FEA tools (ANSYS, Nastran, or Abaqus) for mechanism load-path and dynamic problems.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Responsibilities

• Own your mechanism subsystem from concept through design, analysis, test, and flight.
• Drive structural and kinematic design for minimum mass while meeting strength, stiffness, fatigue, and operational-life requirements across ascent, entry, landing, and reuse environments.
• Balance performance, manufacturability, cost, and schedule in every design decision
• Perform analysis - hand calculations, FEA, tolerance stack-ups - and validate predictions with test and flight data.
• Define and execute qualification and acceptance test campaigns; author procedures, acceptance criteria, and anomaly dispositions.
• Develop and maintain engineering drawings, models, and release documentation.
• Work directly on the factory floor with manufacturing to iterate quickly and resolve build issues in real time.
• Troubleshoot hardware anomalies, perform root cause analysis, and implement design improvements.
• Support launch operations, post-flight inspection, and refurbishment planning.

Skills

Mechanisms design

Flight hardware

Structural mechanics

Kinematics

Manufacturing processes

CAD

FEM/FEA tools

ASME Y14.5 GD&T

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

CATIA

Creo

ANSYS

Nastran

Abaqus

Job description

Cowboy Space Corp. is seeking a Mechanisms Engineer to own a critical mechanism subsystem from concept to flight. You will collaborate across propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and operations to design, build, and validate mechanisms for ascent, entry, landing, and reuse.

You will balance weight, strength, and manufacturability while meeting strict lifecycle requirements. Ideal candidates have deep experience in flight hardware and hands-on prototyping, with CAD/FEA proficiency and a U.S.