Mechatronics Engineer I

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; United States; On-site; USD 102,000 - 123,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Dental & vision

Wellbeing programs

Retirement plans

Paid time off

Learning & development

Rideshare

Childcare support

Flexible schedule

Parental leave

Job summary

NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena seeks a Mechatronics Engineer to design, analyze, and test mechanical and robotic systems for spacecraft and ground support. You will develop mechanisms, sensors, controllers, and structural assemblies for current and future missions, supporting all mission phases from proposal through flight operations.

The role requires a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering with 1+ year experience (or a related Master’s), knowledge of CAD tools, and strong

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with 1+ year related experience, or Master’s degree in a related field.
• Minimum 3.0 GPA.

Responsibilities

• Develop mechanisms, materials, and electronics for current and future JPL missions.
• Support mechanical hardware development for payloads, instruments, and spacecraft through all mission phases.
• Perform design and analysis and generate engineering documentation for spaceflight products.
• Ensure delivered products meet technical requirements and programmatic commitments.
• Contribute to cost and schedule estimation and participate in reviews.

Skills

Mechatronics

Embedded systems

Communication skills

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Master's degree in related field

GPA 3.0

Tools

Unigraphics NX

SolidWorks

Teamcenter

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 unique opportunity is part of theMechanical and Control Systems Division (35), whichcreates 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.

You will be working as a _ Mechatronics Engineer _ within the Mechanical Engineering, Integration, and Test Section , which leads the design, analysis, development, integration, and test of flight mechanical and robotic systems for spacecraft, payloads, and ground-based systems. In this role, you will:

• Develop mechanisms, materials, and electronics, including actuators, sensors, controllers, structures, and moving mechanical assemblies, for current and future JPL missions.
• Support mechanical hardware development and mechanical systems engineering activities for payloads, instruments, and spacecraft during all mission phases including proposal, concept/system architecture development, detailed design, integration & test (I&T), and flight operations.
• Perform design and analysis, generate and maintain engineering documentation, and participate in the build and delivery of mechanical engineering products for spaceflight missions.
• Ensure that delivered products meet all technical requirements and programmatic commitments.
• Contribute to cost and schedule estimation and implementation planning of engineering components.
• Support and present at team, line management, and subsystem level technical reviews.
• Perform tasks under the direction of the group supervisor, project management, and project technical leads, work independently and within a team environment, and collaborate on tasks that span a spectrum of disciplines.

Required Skills:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical discipline with a minimum of 1 year of related experience; or Master’s degree in similar subject areas. Relevant internship or other hands‑on technical experience may be counted toward the experience requirement.
• A minimum of a 3.0 GPA

Desired Skills:

• Knowledge and experience with spacecraft or instrument mechatronics development and/or mechanical hardware design, fabrication, integration, and test.
• Knowledge and experience in electrical engineering and software development for embedded systems.
• Practical experience using CAD modeling software (preferably Unigraphics/Siemens NX, SolidWorks, and Teamcenter) used in a Product Delivery Management (PDM) or similar Concurrent Engineering environment.
• Knowledge of Standards for Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T) per American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Y14.5.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent collaboration skills and ability to work across subject areas and organizations.

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.

$102,440 - $123,344

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.

EEO is the Law.

EEO is the Law Supplement

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.