Mechanisms Engineer III (Spacecraft)

Firefly Aerospace, Inc.

Cedar Park (TX)

On-site

USD 110,000 - 170,000

Full time

14 hours ago

Be an early applicant

Get a reply from this employer

Your resume and cover letter, tailored to exactly what they’re hiring for.

Get past ATS filters

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental and vision plans

Parental leave

Relocation benefits

Educational reimbursement

Short term disability

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is seeking an experienced Mechanical Engineer to own hardware lifecycle for lunar/spaceflight mechanisms. You will design, analyze, fabricate and test moving assemblies, collaborating across disciplines to meet stringent aerospace standards.

You should have a B.S. in aerospace or mechanical engineering (M.S. preferred) and 8+ years’ aerospace experience, strong 3-D CAD (Siemens NX) and familiarity with FEA tools (Nastran/ANSYS/FEMAP).

Qualifications

BS in aerospace or mechanical engineering with 8+ years in aerospace or related field.
Strong design and integration capabilities for mechanical assemblies.
Experience with 3-D CAD and FEA tools is required.

Responsibilities

Own entire hardware lifecycle for moving mechanical assemblies.
Develop and scrub requirements for mechanisms.
Support configuration development and trade studies.
Perform basic strength and sizing calculations for mechanisms.
Generate CAD drawings, specifications, and documentation.
Collaborate to improve processes and ensure compliance with standards.
Demonstrate compliance with NASA/Space Force or relevant standards.

Skills

Strong design and integration

Multi-disciplinary teamwork

Independent learning

Education

B.S. in aerospace or mechanical engineering

M.S. in aerospace or mechanical engineering

Tools

Siemens NX

Nastran

ANSYS

FEMAP

Job description

At Firefly, we’re focused on making space attainable for everyone – including you! Each team member’s passion, dedication, and innovative ideas have a direct impact on fueling our successful trajectory into space. And there’s no shortage of meaningful projects to work on at Firefly. With launch, lunar, and orbital vehicles, Firefly has a diverse line of business with opportunities to get hands‑on experience launching rockets, operating in space, and landing on the Moon.

Our missions are powered by our incredible team ...

764 9

What does SciTec bring to the Firefly family?
...

228 0

Peep our Elytra orbiter being assembled in the ...

703 3

Start your week with another Manufacturing Minute! ...

434 13

This World Space Week, remember to look up and ...

The engine powering Alpha`s first stage is truly ...

847 4

Our Values

Headquartered in the Lone Star State, Firefly’s hardworking team reflects Texas’ GO BIG culture in everything we do. We build big, achieve big, and dream big. We’re building launch vehicles and spacecraft to provide rapid, reliable space access. We’ve achieved some incredible wins, including the first successful commercial Moon landing. And we’re dreaming bigger than this planet with ambitions to Mars, Venus, and beyond. Our core values are what drive us along the way.

Passion

Fireflies believe in perseverance, responsiveness, and mentoring others with a focus on inspiring a better future.

Accountability

Fireflies act with integrity and take ownership of our actions, commitments, decisions, and outcomes.

Fireflies work in alignment across teams and communicate clearly with mutual respect for one another.

Fireflies deliver high-quality work through technical rigor and timely disciplined execution for our customers.

We take care of our Fireflies with some of the best benefits in the industry. Our mission to make space for everyone starts with our employees and allowing them to make space for their family, their career, and their future.

Space for You

Unlimited PTO for exempt employees
3-month sabbatical for every 5 years of service
Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
Mental health services
Paid military leave

Space for Your Family

12 weeks paid maternity leave
4 weeks paid spouse leave
$20k towards family planning: fertility, surrogacy, adoption
Dog friendly workplace

Space for Your Career

$10k/year towards trade school or college
Ongoing coaching to advance leadership skills
- Employee-ownership with stock bonuses
- 4% Safe Harbor 401(k) matching
- $10k bonus for home purchase in Cedar Park, Texas

Job Openings

From launch technicians to propulsion engineers, Firefly has open roles across the company. We’re looking for passionate, bright innovators to join our team and help make space an achievable dream for everyone.

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company that enables our world to launch, land, and operate in space – anywhere, anytime. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the only commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the only company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Our launch vehicles, lunar landers, and orbital vehicles provide government and commercial customers with full mission services from low Earth orbit to the Moon and beyond. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.

SUMMARY

Firefly is looking for an experienced mechanical engineer to develop our state‑of‑the‑art mechanical separation and interfacing systems throughout the product life cycle. You will be part of a highly skilled, dynamic team that will involve you in all aspects of analysis, design, fabrication, and testing. Excellent collaboration and communication skills, along with a positive attitude are critical.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Own entire hardware lifecycle for all moving mechanical assemblies and structures on a mission to the moon.
Develop and scrub requirements.
Support configuration development and trade studies.
Perform first‑order strength and sizing calculations for your responsible mechanisms.
Generate CAD, manufacturing drawings, specifications, and other documentation.
Production Implementation.
Hardware development and qualification test definition.
Demonstrate compliance with NASA, Space Force, or other relevant launch jurisdiction standards.
Collaborate with team to develop and improve processes related to above responsibilities.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

B.S. degree in aerospace or mechanical and 8+ years' demonstrated professional experience in aerospace or related mechanical engineering field
Strong design and integration skills using 3‑D CAD software (Siemens NX preferable)
Ability to effectively work in a multi-discipline team and provide technical guidance and insight
Experience with industry FEA/FEM tools like Nastran, ANSYS, FEMAP, etc.
Experience designing and analyzing composite and metallic structure.
Good understanding of first principles from variety of engineering disciplines (mechanical, structural dynamics, materials, fluids/thermodynamics, electrical)
Drive for independent learning.
M.S. degree in aerospace or mechanical engineering and/or 10+ years of relevant experience
Working knowledge of composite manufacturing methods, material selection, and testing.
Experience developing physical tests to validate analysis and evaluate assumptions
Familiarity with aerospace standard structural analysis methods (Bruhn, Niu, Roark, Shigley’s, etc)
Previous experience in launch vehicle or spacecraft mechanisms.
Working knowledge of at least one computer/scripting language at the professional or hobbyist level.

Firefly offers outstanding benefits for our employees, including generous health, dental and vision plans with low plan deductibles, parental leave, relocation benefits, educational reimbursement, short term disability, and flexible PTO options.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Firefly is governed based on merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Get your free, confidential resume review.

or drag and drop your file here.