Mechanical Engineer II — Space Mechanisms & Flight

Rocketlab; Silver Spring (MD); On-site; USD 87,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company equity

Health insurance

Retirement plan with company match

Paid time off

Job summary

Rocket Lab is seeking a Mechanical Engineer II/Senior at its Silver Spring, MD location to lead development of electromechanical space mechanisms from concept to production under tight timelines.

The role covers design, CAD/FEA, requirements management, documentation, and collaboration with cross‑functional teams. Base pay ranges from $87,000 to $125,000 USD, with strong benefits and growth opportunities, including equity and a robust rewards package.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant engineering field.
• 2+ years experience in aerospace or similar mechanical development.
• CAD and FEA proficiency.
• Experience adapting to changing priorities and quickly resolving blockers.
• Experience working on complex projects across organizational teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead schedule‑aggressive development of innovative space mechanisms from concept through implementation as responsible engineer.
• Design mechanisms and structures in CAD and analyze using hand calcs and FEA.
• Drive requirements definition, traceability, compliance, verification, and system validation.
• Prepare and maintain technical documentation, such as system design descriptions, CONOPS and ICDs.
• Create and maintain requirements verification matrices and risk management plans.
• Support constant incremental improvements to the development team’s engineering approach and best practices.
• Generate technical reports and presentations to communicate findings, progress, and recommendations to internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Support environmental verification testing by assisting or leading test requirements, procedures and execution.
• Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams to ensure proper functionality across system interfaces and for end users.
• Own, or significantly contribute to, development schedules, project milestone reviews and technical interchange meetings.
• Support business development proposals and custom SOWs.
• Support travel or off‑site work to suppliers, customers, and other Rocket Lab sites, approximately 10%.
• Mentor other engineers (as Senior I).

Skills

CAD

FEA

Aerospace experience

Blockers resolution

Cross-functional team

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant engineering field

Tools

NX CAD

Simcenter

Job description

Rocket Lab is seeking a Mechanical Engineer II/Senior at its Silver Spring, MD location to lead development of electromechanical space mechanisms from concept to production under tight timelines.

The role covers design, CAD/FEA, requirements management, documentation, and collaboration with cross‑functional teams. Base pay ranges from $87,000 to $125,000 USD, with strong benefits and growth opportunities, including equity and a robust rewards package.