Orbital Mechanisms Engineer: Flight Hardware & Validation

Socket.dev; Kent (WA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement savings plan

Paid time off

10 paid holidays per calendar year

Paid parental leave

Relocation assistance if applicable

Daily lunch in the office and snacks

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. in Kent, WA is seeking a Mechanisms Engineer to own a critical vehicle mechanism subsystem from concept through flight.

Depending on team priorities, you may work on separation systems, landing gear, aero control surfaces, or electromechanical actuators, collaborating with propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and operations. This hands-on role requires fast iteration, full ownership, and the ability to develop drawings, perform analyses, and validate with tests and flight

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years designing mechanisms or mechanical systems for flight vehicles or high-performance hardware.
• Experience taking hardware from concept through build, integration, and test.
• Strong fundamentals in structural mechanics, kinematics, materials, and manufacturing.
• Proficiency with CAD and creating drawings to GD&T standards.
• Proficiency with FEA tools for mechanism analysis.
• U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or eligible to work in the U.S.

Responsibilities

• Own your mechanism subsystem from concept through design, analysis, test, and flight.
• Drive structural and kinematic design for minimum mass while meeting requirements.
• Balance performance, manufacturability, cost, and schedule in design decisions.
• Perform hand calculations, FEA, tolerancing, and validate with tests and flight data.
• Define and execute qualification and acceptance test campaigns; write procedures and criteria.
• Develop and maintain drawings, models, and release documentation.
• Work on the factory floor with manufacturing to iterate and resolve issues in real time.
• Troubleshoot hardware, perform root cause analysis, and propose improvements.
• Support launch operations, post-flight inspection, and refurbishment planning.

Skills

Mechanisms design

Flight hardware experience

CAD proficiency

FEA proficiency

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

CATIA/Creo CAD

ANSYS/Nastran/Abaqus

Job description

Cowboy Space Corp. in Kent, WA is seeking a Mechanisms Engineer to own a critical vehicle mechanism subsystem from concept through flight.

Depending on team priorities, you may work on separation systems, landing gear, aero control surfaces, or electromechanical actuators, collaborating with propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and operations. This hands-on role requires fast iteration, full ownership, and the ability to develop drawings, perform analyses, and validate with tests and flight