Flight-Ready Structural Analyst for Spacecraft

Cowboy Space Corp.; Kent (WA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Paid time off

10 paid holidays per year

Paid parental leave

Relocation assistance

Office lunch and stocked kitchen

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. is seeking a Structural Analyst to own structural prediction and verification for loads, models, margins, and data that back every design decision.

You’ll manage the full lifecycle from deriving load cases to correlating test data with models, and you will help the team choose the right analysis methods and build the supporting tools. Collaborating with the head of analysis, fluids, propulsion, GNC, and test operations, you will enable flight confidence by iterating quickly,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience performing structural analysis for flight vehicles, propulsion systems, or other high‑performance hardware.
• Strong fundamentals in solid mechanics, structural analysis, stability, and materials behavior, including plasticity, fatigue, and fracture with demonstrated experience determining static strength, stability, and fatigue analysis.
• Proficiency with commercial FEA tools for linear and nonlinear structural problems.
• Ability to substantiate results with classical hand calculations and to explain and defend method selection, not only tool output.
• Proficiency with Python or MATLAB for analysis automation, post‑processing, and tool development.
• 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 the full lifecycle of structural prediction and data for the team — from load definition and first‑order sizing through correlated, test‑anchored models used to clear hardware for flight.
• Derive and maintain the structural load sets: quasi‑static and dynamic load cases, pressure and thermal loads, and coupled loads across ground handling, ascent, and on‑orbit environments.
• Perform static strength and stability analysis — yield and ultimate margins, buckling, joint and fastener analysis, bearing and bolt‑group checks, and local detail stress.
• Perform fatigue and durability analysis: spectrum development, cumulative damage, and life prediction for reusable and cycled hardware.
• Perform fracture and damage‑tolerance analysis with crack growth where applicable, including initial flaw assumptions, critical flaw sizes, and inspection intervals.
• Develop the tools, scripts, templates, and checklists the team uses to perform, document, and verify structural analyses so results are consistent, reviewable, and repeatable across engineers.
• Select and apply material allowables, accounting for temperature, environment, process, and material form; maintain the allowables the team analyzes to.
• Define test objectives and pass/fail criteria; support proof, static, modal, vibration, and life testing with predictions, and perform data analysis and model correlation.
• Perform data reduction for structural test data,and correlate analytical predictions against measurements.
• Support anomaly investigation and root cause analysis, including failure reconstruction, post‑test and post‑flight inspection, and disposition of nonconformances.

Skills

Structural analysis

FEA tools

Python or MATLAB

Hand calculations

US work eligibility

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

ANSYS/NASTRAN

Job description

Cowboy Space Corp. is seeking a Structural Analyst to own structural prediction and verification for loads, models, margins, and data that back every design decision.

You’ll manage the full lifecycle from deriving load cases to correlating test data with models, and you will help the team choose the right analysis methods and build the supporting tools. Collaborating with the head of analysis, fluids, propulsion, GNC, and test operations, you will enable flight confidence by iterating quickly,