Launch Vehicle Engineer

Socket.dev; Kent (WA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement savings plan

Paid time off

10 paid holidays per calendar year

Paid parental leave

Relocation assistance if applicable

Daily lunch in the office

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp seeks a Launch Vehicle Engineer to design, build, test, and operate sophisticated launch vehicle systems. You will contribute to integration efforts and work across disciplines to ensure reliable mission execution.

The role rewards hands-on hardware involvement and ownership mindset in a fast-paced, technically rigorous environment. Ideal candidates bring strong aerospace fundamentals, practical experience with flight hardware, and the ability to operate across design, test,

Qualifications

• Strong aerospace engineering fundamentals.
• Hands-on experience with flight hardware or launch systems.
• Ability to work across design, integration, test, and operations.
• Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments.
• Ownership mindset with a willingness to solve problems outside defined boundaries.

Responsibilities

• Participate in design, build, test, and operation of launch vehicle systems.
• Contribute to integration and verification activities across subsystems.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to ensure mission success.
• Own key aspects of aerospace hardware and its deployment.

Skills

Aerospace fundamentals

Flight hardware experience

Cross-functional work

Ambiguity tolerance

Ownership mindset

Job description

Launch Vehicle Engineer

About Cowboy Space Corp

Mission

Cowboy Space Corporation is solving the global energy crisis by building the infrastructure for abundant, resilient space-based solar energy. We are tackling one of humanity's most complex engineering challenges with a world-class team dedicated to delivering a revolutionary power platform. Cowboy Space Corporation is transforming how civilization powers, computes and connects - from orbit to Earth.

Background

cowboy Space Corporation is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our modular, scalable satellites collect sunlight in Low Earth Orbit to enable multiple integrated applications: transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit high-performance computing clusters (GPU/TPU), and providing secure, high bandwidth optical data transport. Current energy and data systems rely on complex logistics and outdated infrastructure. Cowboy Space Corporation overcomes these challenges by enabling direct, on-demand, secure, and scalable energy distribution and data processing from space. This will revolutionize how we operate in orbit and on Earth, supporting the rapidly expanding space industrial base, ISAM (In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing) operations, remote regions, and military bases. Baiju Bhatt founded Cowboy Space Corporation in 2024. Inspired by his father's work with NASA Langley Research Center, Baiju earned his B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Mathematics at Stanford before co-founding Robinhood, now a public company that has helped over 20 million Americans access the financial system. Cowboy Space Corporation has raised ~$365 million from Index Ventures, Interlagos, Construct Ventures, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, NEA, and others. This is an ambitious mission that demands extraordinary talent. Cowboy Space Corporation's team has worked at places like SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space, Astranis and NASA, and is based in San Carlos, CA. If you're ready to solve complex technical challenges and help build the most important energy company in the world, we want to hear from you.

Launch Vehicle Roles

We are hiring across multiple launch vehicle disciplines and are looking for engineers with experience designing, building, testing, or operating launch vehicle systems and flight hardware.

This is a broad opportunity for highly technical engineers who thrive in fast-paced environments and want ownership over mission-critical aerospace hardware.

Depending on background and experience, engineers may work across:

• Launch vehicle systems engineering

• Structures and mechanisms

• Avionics and embedded systems

• Propulsion integration

• Fluids and thermal systems

• Vehicle integration and test

• Stage systems and payload integration

• Manufacturing and production engineering

• Ground systems and launch operations

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong aerospace engineering fundamentals

• Hands-on experience with flight hardware or launch systems

• Ability to work across design, integration, test, and operations

• Comfort operating in ambiguous, fast-moving environments

• Ownership mindset with a willingness to solve problems outside defined boundaries

Compensation and Benefits

• Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

• Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) retirement savings plan

• Paid time off

• 10 paid holidays per calendar year

• Paid parental leave

• Relocation assistance if applicable

• Daily lunch in the office and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks

ITAR Requirements

• Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants 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. Learn more about ITAR here.

Disclaimer

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.'s discretion.

Cowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.