Mechanical Engineer, Space Based Interceptors (Senior - Staff)

True Anomaly; Denver, Long Beach (CO, CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Paid time off

Lunch provided

401(k)

Equity

Dog Fridays

Job summary

True Anomaly, Inc. is recruiting a senior Mechanical Engineer to design and develop flight hardware for the defense aerospace industry in the Denver area.

You will lead mechanical architecture, drive design reviews, and collaborate with systems, propulsion, and GN&C teams to deliver high-reliability structures and TPS for hypersonic programs. You will mentor junior engineers, define interfaces, and ensure alignment with program milestones while maintaining GD&T and CAD standards across

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.
• 7–15+ years in mechanical design within missile defense or related defense aerospace.
• Expertise in flight vehicle structural design for high-dynamic-pressure and high-g environments.
• Experience with guidance and seeker packaging architecture.
• TPS design experience for hypersonic or re-entry applications.
• Experience leading mechanical integration of propulsion subsystems.
• Mastery of GD&T and CAD leadership across programs.
• Proven track record leading flight vehicle hardware programs from concept to flight.
• Experience with MIL-SPEC/MIL-STD standards and defense environments.
• Familiarity with MES/PLM tools and configuration management.
• Excellent written and verbal communication for executive audiences.

Responsibilities

• Serve as technical authority in mechanical design across defense aerospace programs.
• Own and drive full mechanical architecture from concept to qualification and flight.
• Define structural design philosophy and margins for high-dynamic environments.
• Lead GN&C hardware and seeker packaging architecture integration.
• Own TPS design strategy for hypersonic or re-entry vehicles.
• Lead integration of propulsion subsystems and cross-discipline coordination.
• Maintain ICDs, mass properties, and configuration baselines.
• Chair formal vehicle design reviews and drive risk closure.
• Enforce GD&T standards and CAD/model practices.
• Collaborate with systems, aerodynamics, thermal, GN&C, and propulsion teams.
• Develop qualification/test plans and resolve anomalies.

Skills

Flight vehicle structural design

Guidance and seeker packaging

TPS design

Mechanical integration of propulsion

GD&T and CAD leadership

Defense standards familiarity

Vehicle design reviews leadership

NX or SolidWorks proficiency

Configuration management/PLM

Systems engineering collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

NX (Siemens)

SolidWorks

TeamCenter/Windchill

Job description

Mechanical Engineer, Missile Defense (Senior - Staff)

Space is a warfighting domain. True Anomaly seeks those with the talent and ambition to build the technology that secures it.

OUR MISSION

True Anomaly delivers decisive capabilities for space superiority. We build autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors - enabling the U.S. and its Allies to secure the space environment and counter threats from the ultimate high ground.

OUR VALUES

• Be the offset.We create asymmetric advantages with creativity and ingenuity.
• What would it take?We challenge assumptions to deliver ambitious results.
• It’s the people. Our team is our competitive advantage and we are better together.

BENEFITS & PERKS

• Best-in-class healthcare: 100% company-paid medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents, with HSA/HRA options
• Generous time off: Flexible Time Off (FTO) for exempt employees, accrued PTO of up to 25 days for non-exempt employees, plus 12 paid holidays; Parental Leave; Sick Leave
• Fuel for your day: Daily catered lunch and unlimited snacks for in-office employees
• And more: 401(k) retirement plan, fitness reimbursement, and Dog Fridays
• Equity participation: Equity is included as part of our total compensation package, giving you an opportunity to share in the company’s success.

*Do not apply to fixed term and temporary roles

YOUR MISSION

The next generation of missile defense demands hardware that performs flawlessly at hypersonic speeds, survives extreme thermal and aerodynamic environments, and delivers precision intercept against the most advanced threats ever fielded. True Anomaly is building that hardware - and we are looking for engineers who want to be part of it. As a Mechanical Engineer at True Anomaly, you will play a critical role in designing and developing flight hardware for some of the most technically demanding programs in the defense aerospace industry. You will engineer mechanical systems that must perform flawlessly in extreme environments, building the hardware that matters most when it counts.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as technical authority and subject matter expert in mechanical design, providing engineering leadership across defense aerospace programs and driving the design, analysis, and optimization of structures and assemblies to meet performance, mass, survivability, and reliability requirements.
• Own and drive the full mechanical architecture of flight vehicle structures and systems - from system-level requirements definition and concept development through qualification, flight certification, and lessons learned capture.
• Define structural design philosophy, sizing criteria, and margins of safety for flight vehicle primary and secondary structures across high-dynamic-pressure, high-g maneuver, and thermally coupled hypersonic flight environments.
• Lead the design and development of guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) hardware and seeker packaging architectures, establishing integration standards for precision optical and RF sensor assemblies within highly constrained flight vehicle envelopes.
• Own the thermal protection system (TPS) design strategy for hypersonic and re-entry flight vehicles, including materialselection, panel and tile integration architecture,aeroheating-driven structural trades, and qualification approach for ablative, ceramic, and composite TPS systems.
• Lead mechanical integration of propulsion subsystems, including solid rocket motor structural interfaces, divert and attitude control system (DACS) packaging, nozzle and TVC structural design, and cross-discipline coordination with propulsion engineers to ensure system-level compliance.
• Define andmaintainvehicle-level mechanical interface control documents (ICDs), mass properties reports, and configuration baselines across program milestones.
• Chair and lead formal vehicle design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRR) and drive closure of technical risks, RFIs, and subsystem interface actions across the engineering team.
• Establish and enforce GD&T standards, drawing conventions, and CAD model management practices across the mechanical engineering team.
• Collaborate with systems engineering, aerodynamics, thermal, GN&C, and propulsion teams to derive and flow down mechanical requirements, perform requirements verification, and support IV&V activities.
• Develop and approve structural and environmental qualification and acceptance test plans, witness testing, andresolveanomalies and non-conformances against program requirements.
• Leverage spacecraft and space environment design expertise, including precision mechanisms, electronics packaging, and launch load structural design, to inform cross-domain solutions and bring technical advantage to missile defense and hypersonic programs
• Provide technical mentorship and career development guidance to junior and mid-level mechanical engineers
• Partner with program management and business development to support proposal efforts, schedule and resource planning

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 7-15+ years of professional experience in mechanical design, with the majority spent within missile defense, hypersonic systems, defense aerospace, or a related industry .
• Demonstrated expertise in flight vehicle structural design for high-dynamic-pressure, thermally coupled, and high-g flight environments, including experience across multiple defense aerospace programs
• Extensive hands-on experience with guidance and seeker packaging architecture, including precision optical or RF sensor integration, alignment and retention design, vibration isolation
• Deep experience with TPS design and high-temperature materials, including ablative, ceramic, and composite systems, and ownership of TPS qualification approaches for hypersonic or re-entry applications.
• Proven experience leading mechanical integration of propulsion subsystems, including solid rocket motor interfaces, DACS packaging, and TVC structural design, with full cross-discipline coordination responsibility.
• Expert-levelproficiencyin NX (Siemens) and/or SolidWorks, including complex multi-subsystem vehicle assemblies, configuration management, and CAD team leadership.
• Mastery of GD&T principles, with experience defining and enforcing drawing and model standards across a program or organization.
• Proventrack recordof leading flight vehicle hardware programs from concept through test or flight certification, including full ownership of technical risk and schedule.
• Experience chairing or leading formal vehicle design reviews at the subsystem or full vehicle level.
• Strong familiarity with relevant defense and aerospace standards (e.g., MIL-SPEC, MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-1540, AIAA S-110) and their application to design, analysis, and test.
• Experience with configuration management, MES, and PLM tools (e.g., TeamCenter, Windchill) at a program leadership level.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills, withdemonstratedability to communicate complex technical topics to executive, program, and customer audiences.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

• Master's degree or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience specifically in interceptor systems, kill vehicles, or hypersonic flight vehicle mechanical design, with multiple programs delivered to flight test or operational fielding.
• Experience as a responsible mechanical engineer on a missile defense or hypersonic program, with ownership of vehicle-level mechanical architecture and cross-subsystem integration.
• Deep experience with kill vehicle or hit-to-kill interceptor hardware, including ultra-mass-constrained structures, precision seeker alignment under vibration and thermal loading, and flight-critical deployment or divert mechanism design.
• Experience with hypersonic flight vehicle aeroshell design, including TPS panel integration, structural joint design underaeroheating, and ablative material qualification.
• Background in spacecraft or satellite mechanical design, with the ability to apply space environment principles - precision mechanisms, electronics packaging, launch load structures - as cross-domain technical leverage on missile defense and hypersonic programs.
• Familiarity with structural analysis and FEA methods (e.g., NASTRAN, Ansys) anddemonstratedability to guide and review analysis performed by the broader engineering team.
• Experience supporting business development, proposal writing, and new program captures in missile defense or hypersonic domains, including DARPA, MDA, or Air Force Research Laboratory programs.
• Background working in a startup or high-growth aerospace and defense company, with experience scaling engineering teams and processes under program constraints.
• Active U.S. security clearance (Secret or TS/SCI), or ability and willingness to obtain one.

COMPENSATION

• Equity + Benefits including Health, Dental, Vision, HRA/HSA options, PTO and paid holidays, 401K, Parental Leave

Your actual level and base salary will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: job-related knowledge and skills, education, location, and experience.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Work Location - Successful candidates will be located near Denver or Long Beach.
• Work environment - the work environment; temperature, noise level, inside or outside, or other factors that will affect the person's working conditions while performing the job.
• Physical demands - the physical demands of the job, including bending, sitting, lifting and driving.

True Anomaly is committed to equal employment opportunity on any basis protected by applicable state and federal laws. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in True Anomaly’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.