Fluids GSE Design Engineer I

Firefly Aerospace; United States; On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision plans

Parental leave

Relocation benefits

Educational reimbursement

Short term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace is seeking a Fluids Ground Support Equipment (FGSE) Design Engineer to develop ground fluid systems supporting our launch vehicles and spacecraft. You will design, install, and test fluid systems, coordinate with GSE teams, and ensure compliance with safety and engineering standards.

You will travel to Cedar Park, TX and Briggs, TX facilities as needed to support design, fabrication, and activation activities and participate in internal and external design reviews.

Qualifications

• Bachelors’ degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering or related field.
• Strong understanding of fluids, heat transfer, and thermodynamics.
• Ability to prioritize and execute tasks in a high pressure, fast-paced environment.
• Self-motivation and initiative to ensure systems are functional.
• Willingness to take ownership of large or complex systems.
• Experience with budgeting, scheduling, and communications in projects.

Responsibilities

• Design ground fluid systems: develop P&IDs, sizing for cryogenic and multiphase fluids, components selection.
• Manage fabrication, installation, checkout, and operation of systems.
• Provide P&IDs and drawings to GSE technician teams; create work instructions.
• Plan and schedule upcoming work and coordinate with teams.
• Lead design reviews and participate in readiness reviews.
• Perform activation testing with safety-focused procedures and docs.
• Maintain and upgrade fluid systems; craft maintenance plans.
• Travel to test/launch sites as required to support objectives.

Skills

Fluid systems

P&IDs

3D CAD

Siemens NX

GSE

DCS/SCADA

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering

Tools

Siemens NX

Teamcenter

Job description

ABOUT FIREFLY AEROSPACE

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24‑hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

SUMMARY

As a Fluids Ground Support Equipment (FGSE) Design Engineer, you will have the opportunity to leverage your creative background and expertise to help develop Firefly’s next generation of launch sites, test stands, and production equipment supporting Firefly’s entire fleet of launch vehicles and spacecraft. You will work in small collaborative groups, on fluid system design, installation, maintenance, and operation across our various facilities. This work includes preliminary and detailed design, installation, startup support, system baselining, performance analysis, and recommending upgrades. This role will require travel to both our Cedar Park, TX Headquarters and our Briggs, TX Production and Development Facility.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design of ground fluid systems includes developing P&IDs, tube & pipe sizing calculations for cryogenic, multiphase, compressible & incompressible fluids, valve/fitting/component specification and selection, design for critical safety equipment, basic control philosophy for system modifications, pipe & equipment coating & insulation specification and more
• Manage the fabrication, installation, checkout, and operation of these systems
• Coordinate & plan fabrication/construction with GSE technician team, including but not limited to: Providing P&IDs and dimensional drawings for systems
• Generating drawings and work instructions
• Planning/scheduling upcoming work
• Consideration of technician feedback in the design phase
• Provide on-the-ground support and direction to build teams
• Coordinate with and perform work according to policy, procedures and specifications established by the Ground Support Equipment design team
• Maintain a high level of understanding of relevant requirements, engineering codes and piping standards including launch range requirements and ASME B31.1, ASME B31.3, ANSI, API, and applicable NFPA standards
• Participate in and lead internal design reviews, and operations readiness reviews, as well as represent Firefly during external design reviews.
• Perform activation testing of your systems including determining test objectives, test requirements, detailed procedure writing with a focus on safety, executing test plans and procedures, and working with other teams as necessary
• Maintain and upgrade fluid systems as necessary, including crafting preventative maintenance plans for systems & equipment
• Troubleshoot fluid systems for nonconformance's, using the company’s nonconformance reporting system to engineering instructions, i.e. dispositions and work steps
• Travel to test and launch sites, as required, to support the company objectives

QUALIFICATIONS

• Required Bachelors’ degree in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, or related engineering discipline
• Strong understanding of first-principles in fluids, heat transfer, and thermodynamics
• Able to prioritize and execute tasks in a high pressure, fast paced environment
• Ability to self-motivate and take the initiative to ensure your systems are functional and operating at peak performance
• Willingness and enthusiasm to take extreme ownership over a large or complex system
• Capable of balancing detailed design tasks with higher level project management style tasks, including budgeting, scheduling, and communications
• Capacity to organize, communicate, and lead in a multidisciplinary environment
• 2+ years of recent experience in a professional setting outside the classroom with fluid systems, pneumatics, hydraulics or HVAC systems in a design, assembly, test, or operations capacity
• Willingness to travel in support of GSE build and activation 30% of the time
• Desired Cryogenic system design and operational experience
• Experience in an aerospace, R&D, or oil & gas environment.
• Experience or familiarity with building or operating distributed control systems (instrumentation, data acquisition, DCS, SCADA, etc.)
• Strong 3D CAD experience, preferably in Siemens NX/Teamcenter
• Experience developing test and operational procedures
• Familiarity with ASME, NASA, and SSCMAN standards related to fluid system design
• 5+ years of recent experience in a professional setting outside the classroom with fluid systems, pneumatics, hydraulics or HVAC systems in a design, assembly, test, or operations capacity
• Hands-on experience building, troubleshooting, and operating complex fluid or mechanical systems
• Direct experience with design and build of ground systems (GSE) or related fluid systems including, but not limited to test environments, fluid or gas conditioning/storage, manufacturing processes, and compressible gasses

BENEFITS

• generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles
• parental leave
• relocation benefits
• educational reimbursement
• short term disability
• flexible PTO options

EXPORT RESTRICTIONS & EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

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.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24‑hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.