Mechanical Engineer II – Solar Deployables: CAD to Flight

Socket.dev; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 144,000 - 177,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity compensation

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401k retirement plan

Paid vacation and holidays

Paid parental leave

Job summary

Muon Space in San Jose, CA is seeking a Mechanical Engineer to design and build hardware for solar arrays and deployable systems, from concept through flight. You will own components, release drawings, prototype, and prove them out in test.

This hands-on role offers a fast build-test-learn loop with collaboration across disciplines. The position is hybrid and requires on-site work in San Jose three days per week.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience designing, building, and testing mechanical hardware.
• Strong CAD skills (SolidWorks preferred) for component and assembly design.
• Solid command of drawings, GD&T, BOMs, and tolerance stacks.
• Hands-on prototyping and test experience with a bias for learning through hardware.
• Familiarity with common fabrication methods (machining, sheet metal, composites, or additive).
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with a strong desire to learn in a fast-paced environment.
• B.S. or higher in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Design components and assemblies for solar arrays and deployable systems—structures, mechanism components, and supporting hardware— from concept through detailed design and release.
• Produce and release engineering documentation: drawings, GD&T, BOMs, and tolerance stacks under configuration control.
• Build and test prototypes to evaluate design concepts and retire risk early.
• Support qualification and acceptance test campaigns, including deployment testing with gravity offload and environmental test (vibration, TVAC).
• Perform first-order engineering analysis— margins, stiffness, and sizing hand calcs— to guide your designs, working with the group's analysts on detailed FEA.
• Design test fixtures, GSE, and tooling that make hardware fast and repeatable to build and test.
• Work with vendors on part fabrication, and support build procedures and work instructions for production.
• Present your work in design reviews and incorporate feedback from senior engineers across disciplines.

Skills

SolidWorks

GD&T

Prototyping

Mechanical design

Team collaboration

Education

B.S. or higher in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

FEMAP/NASTRAN

ANSYS

Job description

Muon Space in San Jose, CA is seeking a Mechanical Engineer to design and build hardware for solar arrays and deployable systems, from concept through flight. You will own components, release drawings, prototype, and prove them out in test.

This hands-on role offers a fast build-test-learn loop with collaboration across disciplines. The position is hybrid and requires on-site work in San Jose three days per week.