Head of Mechanical Engineering

AdAstra Talent Advisors; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 165,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Strong equity package

Collaborative team environment

Job summary

AdAstra Talent Advisors is seeking a Mechanical Engineer in Washington, D.C. to lead the mechanical design of innovative flight hardware. You will work closely with a multidisciplinary team to translate complex requirements into reliable hardware solutions, ensuring high quality and performance standards.

The ideal candidate has a strong background in mechanical engineering with extensive experience in CAD design, along with proven leadership skills and a hands-on approach to engineering challenges.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of mechanical design engineering experience.
• Ability to design with space-rated components.
• Experience leading engineers and mechanical product development.

Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical design and R&D for flight hardware.
• Translate system requirements into manufacturable designs.
• Mentor other engineers and provide technical leadership.

Skills

Mechanical design experience

3D CAD proficiency

Hands-on assembly experience

Leadership skills

Strong communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or similar

Tools

SolidWorks

ANSYS

Job description

Our client is building off-Earth foundries that use the natural ultra-high vacuum of space as a manufacturing input. Their next-gen flight hardware is designed to produce trusted, ultra-high‑yield semiconductor materials that are difficult or impossible to make on Earth at comparable purity and defect performance.

They are not building a science project; they are building a new industrial capability. That means real hardware, rapid iteration, disciplined execution, and a willingness to challenge assumptions from first principles as they design, fly, learn, and improve mission by mission.

About the Role

Mechanical engineering is central to our client’s ability to turn space into a factory floor. This role sits at the core of their flight hardware development: owning major assemblies, translating ambiguous mission and business requirements into manufacturable hardware, and defining how the mechanical team operates as they scale.

You will work shoulder‑to‑shoulder with systems, electrical, software, materials, manufacturing, and test to build flight hardware on real schedules. The expectation is hands‑on leadership across concepting, CAD, release, build, integration, test, failure learning, and design iteration.

Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical design and R&D for the team’s flight hardware, including concept development, trade studies, detailed design, and integration strategy across structures, mechanisms, interfaces, enclosures, and support tooling.
• Directly own major CAD assemblies and product structure/BOM for critical systems; maintain strong configuration discipline, clear interfaces, and high‑quality drawing release packages.
• Design with metallic materials and space‑rated components, selecting appropriate materials, finishes, fasteners, bearings, seals, sensors, and purchased parts for high‑reliability space hardware.
• Translate system requirements into manufacturable mechanical designs that balance performance, mass, stiffness, thermal behavior, contamination sensitivity, serviceability, cost, and schedule.
• Perform and review hand calculations, tolerance stack‑ups, GD&T, fit/interface studies, and FEA as needed to close designs with appropriate engineering margin.
• Lead prototype builds and hands‑on assembly/integration in the lab; create or review assembly procedures, work instructions, test plans, and inspection criteria.
• Bring a strong lessons‑learned mindset: use prior design experience, build feedback, supplier issues, test data, and failure investigations to improve each hardware revision and avoid repeating mistakes.
• Partner with internal technicians and external vendors to move parts from design through fabrication, inspection, assembly, and verification.
• Lead design reviews, root‑cause investigations, and anomaly resolution with a high bar for clear communication and sound engineering judgment.
• Define how the team’s mechanical engineering is done, including CAD conventions, design checklists, part libraries, release processes, and cross‑functional review norms.
• Mentor other engineers and provide technical leadership as the mechanical team grows.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a similar technical discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years of progressive mechanical design engineering experience developing complex hardware products from concept through build, integration, and test.
• Experience leading engineers or technicians and helping set standards for a growing hardware team.
• Demonstrated ownership of large CAD assemblies and mechanical product development for highly integrated electromechanical, aerospace, or other high‑consequence systems.
• Strong proficiency in a modern 3D CAD platform (e.g., SolidWorks, NX, Creo, CATIA, or similar) and 2D drawing creation, including BOMs, revision control, and PDM/PLM workflows.
• Strong mechanical design fundamentals, including GD&T, tolerance analysis, material and process selection, fastener and joint design, structural load paths, fits, and DFM/DFA.
• Hands‑on build and assembly experience; comfortable working directly with hardware in the lab, on the floor, or with suppliers to debug interfaces, close issues, and improve designs.
• Experience designing with metallic hardware and integrating space‑rated or similarly high‑reliability components.
• Demonstrated ability to apply lessons learned from previous designs, build issues, and test outcomes to improve robustness, manufacturability, and development speed.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document assumptions, present at design reviews, and drive cross‑functional alignment.
• Demonstrated ability to operate as a self‑starter in ambiguous environments; you can define requirements, make sound tradeoffs, and deliver without heavy oversight.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience developing spacecraft, satellite, launch, propulsion, robotics, or other hardware intended for vacuum, thermal, vibration, and shock environments.
• Experience with precision structures, mechanisms, thermal‑mechanical packaging, contamination‑sensitive hardware, or semiconductor/process equipment.
• Experience with machined, sheet metal, welded, bonded, or additively manufactured metallic components, including supplier collaboration and inspection feedback loops.
• FEA experience (ANSYS, Nastran, Abaqus, or CAD‑integrated tools) and the judgment to pair analysis with empirical testing.
• Experience supporting environmental or qualification testing and investigating test anomalies to closure.
• Able to walk the team through a program where you translated customer or business requirements into a concept, drove the design approach, defined the analyses, built prototypes, executed tests, and refined the hardware based on what you learned.
• Experience in early‑stage or high‑growth environments where speed, pragmatism, and strong judgment matter.
• Experience supporting export‑controlled or ITAR‑sensitive hardware development environments.

Culture

• Our client values first‑principles thinkers who move with urgency and take ownership. They expect engineers to build the system, not just the component; chase down answers; communicate clearly; and use lessons learned to make each build better. They give people autonomy and expect accountability in return. Launch windows and test campaigns can be intense, but they work as a collaborative team that respects one another and stays focused on execution.

Logistical Requirements

• This is an onsite role in Washington, D.C.

Compensation

• Annual base pay: $165,000 - $225,000 USD
• Strong equity package
• To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicants must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.