Launch Vehicle Mechanisms Engineer III

Firefly Aerospace; Cedar Park (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision plan

Parental leave

Educational reimbursement

Short-term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace in Texas seeks a Launch Vehicle Mechanisms Engineer III to design, analyze, develop, and qualify moving mechanical assemblies for launch vehicles. You will lead technically across mechanism lifecycles, including stage separation, deployment, and hold-down systems, shaping motion from theory to a functional product.

The role requires expertise in kinematics, tribology, vibration and cryogenic environments, plus hands-on CAD work and leading test campaigns.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related field.
• 6+ years designing, analyzing, and qualifying aerospace mechanisms.
• Experience with flight-critical mechanisms and harsh environments.
• Proficiency in kinematics, tribology, lubrication, and wear in aerospace.
• Experience with qualification/test programs and production support.

Responsibilities

• Own design, analysis, and qualification of moving mechanical assemblies for launch vehicle programs.
• Develop hardware definitions through CAD and detailed drawings.
• Perform structural, fatigue, wear, and thermal analyses on moving systems.
• Document to build confidence and reliability; ensure integration with structures and avionics.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain to ensure producibility.
• Lead testing from component to system level and mentor junior engineers.
• Support build, integration, and acceptance activities; resolve fit and function issues.

Skills

Mechanical design

Aerospace experience

Friction/tribology

Kinematics analysis

Life-cycle engineering

FEA

CAD and drawings

Qualification testing

Education

B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

M.S. or PhD preferred

Tools

CAD software

FEA software

Job description

About Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the

About Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. 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 III 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.


• 6+ 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.


• Proven ability to make sound, defensible engineering decisions under schedule and program constraints.

Desired

• M.S. or PhD in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related discipline or 8+ years of experience designing, analyzing, and qualifying mechanical mechanisms for aerospace or high-reliability systems.


• Experience with launch vehicle or spacecraft programs from development through qualified flight.


• Experience driving hardware from a test though successful product.


• Experience with design and qualification of separation systems.


• Experience with shock mitigation strategies.


• Proven history of successful mechanisms with high lifecycle counts and minimal refurbishment.


• Familiarity with scripting or programming for analysis, automation, or data reduction.


• Working knowledge of AIAA S-114, NASA 5017b, SMS-S016, NASA 5020, GEVS

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.

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.