Lead Spacecraft Systems Engineer - Design & Mechanisms

Rocket Lab Corporation; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 206,000; Full time

Job summary

Based out of Rocket Lab's global headquarters in Long Beach, CA, the Senior Systems Engineer I – Spacecraft Design leads the mechanical formulation of satellite systems, including structures, mechanisms, and bus configurations to support civil, national security, and commercial missions.

You will manage mass and mechanical budgets, define requirements, perform trades, plan tests, and oversee the mechanical engineering process from concept to production, with collaboration across leadership and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering, or other technical discipline.
• 5+ years of aerospace engineering experience.
• Experience with satellite/spacecraft development and CAD.
• US citizenship is required.

Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical formulation for satellite systems across programs.
• Develop high-performance satellite bus configurations and mechanisms.
• Define deployment systems for modern satellites.
• Manage mass and mechanical budgets and system requirements.
• Perform analyses (hand-calcs, FEA) and test methods for validation.
• Oversee design from concept through production and testing.

Skills

Mechanical design

Mass budgeting

Requirements mgmt

Test planning

Cross-functional

Education

Bachelor's in mechanical or aerospace engineering

Master's/PhD (nice to have)

Tools

CAD modeling

FEA

Hand-calcs

Requirements tools (JAMA/DOORS)

Job description

Based out of Rocket Lab's global headquarters in Long Beach, CA, the Senior Systems Engineer I – Spacecraft Design leads the mechanical formulation of satellite systems, including structures, mechanisms, and bus configurations to support civil, national security, and commercial missions.

You will manage mass and mechanical budgets, define requirements, perform trades, plan tests, and oversee the mechanical engineering process from concept to production, with collaboration across leadership and