Lunar Payload Mechanical Engineer – Flight Hardware Lead

GRU; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

GRU is designing the 2027 Lunar Payload for a milestone Moon mission. You will own the mechanical design from concept to flight hardware, prototype rapidly, and iterate based on tests.

You’ll coordinate ICD with the lunar lander provider and be the main technical contact for structural/ mechanism analysis. We seek deep 3D CAD/FEA fluency, end-to-end spaceflight hardware experience, and comfort with deployment mechanisms, seals, actuators, and pressure systems.

Qualifications

• Experience designing spaceflight hardware end-to-end (build, test, deploy).
• Fluency with CAD and FEA tools; ability to justify design trades with analysis.
• Hands-on hardware engineering experience for high‑reliability aerospace systems.

Responsibilities

• Own the mechanical design of the payload from concept through flight hardware.
• Rapidly prototype, test, break things, and iterate.
• Manage ICD with the lunar lander provider and be the primary point of contact.
• Run and interpret structural/mechanism analysis to support design trades.

Skills

CAD

FEA

Spaceflight design

3D thinking

Tools

FEA software

Job description

GRU is designing the 2027 Lunar Payload for a milestone Moon mission. You will own the mechanical design from concept to flight hardware, prototype rapidly, and iterate based on tests.

You’ll coordinate ICD with the lunar lander provider and be the main technical contact for structural/ mechanism analysis. We seek deep 3D CAD/FEA fluency, end-to-end spaceflight hardware experience, and comfort with deployment mechanisms, seals, actuators, and pressure systems.