Mechanical Designer IV

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; California; On-site; USD 160,000 - 191,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, vision plans

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Flexible scheduling

Job summary

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA, seeks a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to design and analyze spacecraft hardware and MGSE. You will create complex CAD models, manage critical assemblies, and lead design reviews in a collaborative engineering environment.

The role requires extensive spaceflight experience, NX mastery, and proven leadership from concept through production, including GD&T and detailed drawings. Temporary position up to 36 months.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical discipline.
• Extensive experience in spaceflight or complex environments.
• Ability to lead complex mechanical design efforts and design reviews.
• Proven track record approving drawings, models, and analyses.
• Strong communication and CAD tool fluency (NX required; CATIA/Creo).
• Experience with ASME Y14.100/2017 drawings and GD&T Y14.5/2018.

Responsibilities

• Perform as a Mechanical Design Engineer on spacecraft, instruments, or MGSE.
• Create complex CAD models, manage assemblies, and produce drawings.
• Lead design concepts, tolerancing, and interface definitions.
• Oversee engineering documentation and subsystem architecture.
• Present designs at reviews and coordinate with space science teams.

Skills

NX CAD

CATIA

Creo

GD&T

Engineering drawings

Leadership

Spaceflight experience

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

Teamcenter

PDM

Job description

Job Details

New ideas are all around us, but only a few will change the world. That’s our focus at JPL. We ask the biggest questions, then search the universe for answers—literally. We build upon ideas that have guided generations, then share our discoveries to inspire generations to come. Your mission—your opportunity—is to seek out the answers that bring us one step closer. If you’re driven to discover, create, and inspire something that lasts a lifetime and beyond, you’re ready for JPL.

Located in Pasadena, California, JPL has a campus-like environment situated on 177 acres in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and offers a work environment unlike any other: we inspire passion, foster innovation, build collaboration, and reward excellence.

This senior-level opportunity is part of the Mechanical and Control Systems Division (35), which creates advanced mechanical, robotics, thermal, propulsion, onboard GNC, and electronic packaging systems. Division 35 develops hardware and systems from early architecture through design, fabrication, subsystem and system-level integration, and test.

Note: As a temporary position, this assignment may last up to 36 months in duration with approvals based on 6 to 12-month assignments. However, please note that you are not under any employment contract and your temporary employment status can be terminated at any time, with or without notice.

In this role, you will:

• Perform as a Mechanical Design Engineer for JPL on a spacecraft, instrument, robotic, and/or Mechanical Ground Support Equipment (MGSE) application
• Create complex CAD models, manage critical assemblies and produce engineering drawings.
• Work with world class engineers and participate in teams in a highly collaborative environment.
• Develop and manage configurations and/or trades on the mechanical design for projects
• Interfacing with space science experts, analysts, manufacturing engineers, and project staff
• Lead the design effort for conceptualization, design and tolerancing of highly complex mechanical components, subassemblies, and assemblies for spacecraft, payloads, mechanisms, opto-mechanical systems, and ground support equipment.
• Conduct and approve critical mechanical design and analysis efforts, including structural, thermal, dynamic, kinematic, GD&T, material selection, and producibility evaluations.
• Oversee and guide development of engineering documentation, including models, drawings, interface definitions, mechanical requirement sets, and design packages
• Lead subsystem-level architecture development for mechanical designs, ensuring robust interfaces, integration feasibility, and end-to-end mechanical integrity.
• Present mechanical engineering products and decisions at subsystem, system, and management reviews, representing the technical status and justification for mechanical design choices.

Required Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical discipline with a minimum of 9 years of related experience; or Master’s degree with a minimum of 7 years; or a PhD with a minimum 5 years of related experience.
• Extensive experience designing, analyzing, developing, integrating, and verifying mechanical components and assemblies for spaceflight or comparably complex environments.
• Demonstrated ability to independently lead complex mechanical design efforts, including requirements development, interface definition, subsystem architecture, and formal design reviews.
• Proven experience approving mechanical engineering products such as drawings, models, analyses, interface documents, and change requests.
• Strong communication skills and ability to present complex mechanical engineering material to internal and external stakeholders.
• Fluency in Engineering CAD (Computer-Aided Design) tools such as Siemens NX (required), CATIA or Creo.
• Experience producing engineering drawings using the ASME Y14.100-2017 standard
• Knowledge of Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) using ASME Y14.5-2018.
• Expertise with CAD and PDM tools such as NX, SolidWorks, Teamcenter, and tolerance stackups.

Desired Skills

• Extensive experience in the mechanical design of spacecraft primary and secondary structures, mechanisms and instruments.
• Extensive experience in the mechanical design of MGSE
• Experience producing detail drawings, assembly drawings, interface drawings and source control drawings.
• Demonstrated success defining and approving mechanical requirements, interfaces, verification strategies, and risk mitigation plans at subsystem or system level.
• Strong ability to innovate and solve unprecedented mechanical engineering challenges.
• Experience representing mechanical engineering in project reviews, peer reviews, and customer-facing reviews.
• Experience with composite structures, aerospace materials, and fabrication processes.
• Experience with opto-mechanical hardware design, fabrication, integration, and testing.
• Familiarity with JPL, NASA, and Aerospace Corporation policies and procedures
• Aerospace fabrication processes
• Aerospace material selection
• MGSE design experience with JPL Critical Items (JCI) hardware
• Experience with basic analysis methods to support preliminary hardware sizing
• Experience leading a team of designers

JPL has a catalog of benefits and perks that span from the traditional to the unique. This includes a variety of health, dental, vision, wellbeing, and retirement plans, paid time off, learning, rideshare, childcare, flexible schedule, parental leave and many more. Our focus is on work-life balance, and living healthy, fulfilling lives as we Dare Mighty Things Together. For benefits eligible positions, benefits are effective the first day of the month coincident with or immediately following the employee’s start date.

For further benefits information click Benefits and Perks

The hiring range displayed below is specifically for those who will work in or reside in the location listed. In extending an offer, Jet Propulsion Laboratory considers factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s job related skills, experience, knowledge, and relevant education/training.

The typical full time equivalent annual hiring range for this job in Pasadena, California.

$159,952 - $190,632

JPL is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, pregnancy or perceived pregnancy, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, protected military or veteran status or any other characteristic or condition protected by Federal, state or local law.

In addition, JPL is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

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Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federal facility. Due to rules imposed by NASA, JPL will not accept applications from citizens of designated countries or those born in a designated country unless they are U.S. Citizens, Legal Permanent Residents of the U.S or have other protected status under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). The Designated Countries List is available here .