Launch Vehicle Mechanisms Engineer II

Firefly Aerospace; United States; On-site; USD 95,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace in Austin, Texas, is seeking a Launch Vehicle Mechanisms Engineer II to lead the design, analysis, development, and qualification of moving mechanical assemblies for launch vehicles.

You will provide technical leadership across the full lifecycle of mechanisms such as stage separation, deployment, hold-down and release systems, and other flight-critical moving parts, guiding detailed analysis, documentation, and cross-functional collaboration.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering field.
• 3+ years of experience designing, analyzing, and qualifying mechanical mechanisms for aerospace or high-reliability systems.
• Experience with flight-critical mechanisms such as separation systems, deployment mechanisms, actuators, latches, hinges, springs, and release devices.
• Strong understanding of kinematics, tribology, tolerance analysis, lubrication, and wear in aerospace environments.
• Experience designing and testing for extreme environments including vibration, shock, thermal cycling, vacuum, and cryogenic conditions.
• Proficiency with FEA or classical hand calculations methods to evaluate strength, stiffness, and fatigue.
• Experience supporting production builds, resolving nonconformances, and improving producibility.
• Experience defining qualification and acceptance test programs and interpreting test data.

Responsibilities

• Individual contribution and teamwork as the technical owner to develop and produce moving mechanical assemblies that meet the requirements to accomplish the goal of supporting launch vehicle missions.
• Create and manage hardware definition though CAD and drawings.
• Perform and/or guide detailed analysis including structural margins, fatigue, contact, wear, thermal effects, tolerance stack-ups, and dynamics of moving systems.
• Build confidence and reliability through documentation.
• Collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams to ensure mechanisms integrate seamlessly with structures, avionics, propulsion, and operations.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain to ensure mechanisms are producible, inspectable, and flight-ready.
• Support build, integration, and acceptance activities, resolving fit, function, and performance issues to ensure a successful product.
• Lead development, qualification, and acceptance testing of mechanisms, including component-, subassembly-, and system-level tests.
• Provide technical mentorship to junior engineers, elevating mechanism design quality.
• Act as a subject-matter expert for mechanisms across programs and projects.

Skills

Kinematics

Tribology

Tolerance analysis

Lubrication

Wear in aerospace environments

Vibration & dynamics

Qualification testing

Education

B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering field

Tools

CAD (Computer-Aided Design)

FEA

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

The Launch Vehicle Mechanisms Engineer II is responsible for the design, analysis, development, and qualification of moving mechanical assemblies for launch vehicle programs. This role provides technical leadership across the full lifecycle of mechanisms such as stage separation systems, deployment mechanisms, hold-down and release systems, and other flight‑critical moving assemblies. This requires both technical and artistic aspects to be able to define the motion of a piece of hardware and then push theory into a functional product through detailed analysis and documentation.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Individual contribution and teamwork as the technical owner to develop and produce moving mechanical assemblies that meet the requirements to accomplish the goal of supporting launch vehicle missions.
• Create and manage hardware definition though CAD and drawings.
• Perform and/or guide detailed analysis including structural margins, fatigue, contact, wear, thermal effects, tolerance stack‑ups, and dynamics of moving systems.
• Build confidence and reliability through documentation.
• Collaborate effectively with cross‑functional teams to ensure mechanisms integrate seamlessly with structures, avionics, propulsion, and operations.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain to ensure mechanisms are producible, inspectable, and flight‑ready.
• Support build, integration, and acceptance activities, resolving fit, function, and performance issues to ensure a successful product.
• Lead development, qualification, and acceptance testing of mechanisms, including component-, subassembly-, and system-level tests.
• Provide technical mentorship to junior engineers, elevating mechanism design quality.
• Act as a subject‑matter expert for mechanisms across programs and projects.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering field.
• 3+ years of experience designing, analyzing, and qualifying mechanical mechanisms for aerospace or high‑reliability systems.
• Demonstrated experience with flight‑critical mechanisms such as separation systems, deployment mechanisms, actuators, latches, hinges, springs, and release devices.
• Strong understanding of kinematics, tribology, tolerance analysis, lubrication, and wear in aerospace environments.
• Experience designing and testing for extreme environments including vibration, shock, thermal cycling, vacuum, and cryogenic conditions.
• Proficiency with FEA or classical hand calculations methods to evaluate strength, stiffness, and fatigue.
• Experience supporting production builds, resolving nonconformances, and improving producibility.
• Experience defining qualification and acceptance test programs and interpreting test data.