Principal Mechanical Engineer

CesiumAstro; Westminster (MD); On-site; USD 142,000 - 189,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

HSA

FSA

Retirement plans

Job summary

CesiumAstro is seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to lead a team of engineers responsible for mechanical aspects of spacecraft, subsystems, and interfaces throughout the development lifecycle.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience in satellite structures, CAD/FEA tools (SolidWorks, ANSYS, Nastran), and a demonstrated ability to drive design for manufacturing and reliability in space hardware. Strong communication and proposal skills are essential.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering from an accredited university.
• 11 years of experience in communications satellite structures and mechanisms design from concept to decommissioning across programs.
• At least 5 years of experience leading technical teams.
• Significant contributions to multiple flight missions, plus lead ownership of one or more full mechanical development cycles.
• Ability to support subsystem leads with clear mechanical interfaces and cross-functional alignment.
• Hands-on experience in satellite and large instrument AI&T that leads to design implementation.
• Strong opinions on engineering rigor and lean process.
• Experience including failure and recovery of mechanism operations in test and in operations, plus loss of mission risk.
• At least one experience with a structural failure in environmental test and recovery from that failure.
• Strong fundamentals in mechanics of materials, hand calcs, and engineering rules of thumb.
• Experience in conducting architectural trade studies including parametric and first-order cost and physical analysis.
• Experience as a reviewer for structural and thermal analysis to ensure manufacturability.
• Experience with professional mechanical and FEA CAD tools, such as SolidWorks Simulation, Ansys, and Nastran.
• Design and build for manufacturing and cost.
• Expertise in CNC manufacturing and GD&T.
• Experience with design and manufacturing of composite sandwich panels for satellites.
• Experience in designing spacecraft primary and secondary structures in various materials.
• Familiarity with design for test, manufacturability, assembly, and reliability.
• Familiarity with spacecraft AI&T.
• Hands-on experience supporting environmental test campaigns.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of engineers through all phases of mechanical development from concept to spaceflight.
• Oversee requirements definition, architectures, trades, and block diagrams for spacecraft structures.
• Direct manufacturing, assembly, testing, qualification, and in‑orbit support activities.
• Collaborate with GNC, EPS, CDH, Payload, RF, Systems, and AI&T teams.
• Present engineering design review materials to customers and executive team.
• Contribute to proposal writing efforts and win strategies.
• Mentor and grow a team of engineers and technologists.

Skills

Mechanical design

Team leadership

CAD (SolidWorks)

FEA/Simulation

Thermal design

Spacecraft structures

GD&T

Composite panels

Manufacturing for space

Analytical skills

Education

BS in Mechanical Engineering

MS in Aerospace Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks Simulation

ANSYS

NASTRAN

GD&T tools

Job description

_ Please Note: To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

At CesiumAstro , we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands-on, interactive, and autonomous work, CesiumAstro is the place for you. We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward-thinking individuals to join our team.

We are looking to add a Principal Mechanical Engineer to our team. If you are great at what you do, enjoy working in a startup environment, and are passionate about developing space hardware for leading-edge communications satellites, we would like to hear from you.

In this position, you will be responsible for leading a team of engineers responsible for mechanical aspects of CesiumAstro spacecraft, subsystems, and interfaces through all phases of the development process. The ideal candidate will be versatile and proficient in mechanical design, electronics packaging, computer-aided design (CAD), mechanical interfaces, thermal architecture, deployable and actuated structures, and environmental qualification of spacecraft. You will use these skills to effectively direct, mentor, and grow a team of upcoming engineers in the design of a novel satellite.

As a CesiumAstro spacecraft team lead and responsible mechanical authority, you will manage a small team to develop satellites and put them in orbit. You will be responsible for delivering robust mechanical designs from concept through space flight including requirements definition, architecture trades and block diagrams, analysis, manufacturing, assembly, testing, qualification, and in-orbit support. In this role you will also collaborate closely with GNC, EPS, CDH, Payload, RF, Systems, and AI&T teams.

The successful candidate will also present engineering design review materials to our customers and executive team, as well as participate in proposal-writing efforts. As such, excellent written and verbal communication skills are required.

JOB REQUIREMENTS AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor of Science (BS) or Master of Science (MS) degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering from an accredited university or institution.
• 11 years of experience in communications satellite structures and mechanisms design from concept design to decommissioning across multiple programs.
• At least 5 years of experience leading technical teams.
• Significant contributions to multiple flight missions, plus lead ownership of one or more full mechanical development cycles at the space vehicle level.
• Ability to support subsystem leads with clear mechanical interfaces and cross-functional alignment.
• Hands-on experience in satellite and large instrument AI&T that leads directly to design implementation.
• Strong opinions on the meaning of engineering rigor and lean process.
• Experience including failure and recovery of mechanism operations in test and in operations, as well as loss of mission due to mechanism failure (experience with success as well!).
• At least one experience with a structural failure in environmental test and recovery from that failure.
• Strong fundamentals including mechanics of materials, hand calcs, and engineering rules of thumb.
• Experience in conducting architectural trade studies including parametric and first-order cost and physical analysis.
• Experience as a reviewer for structural and thermal analysis to ensure designs meet requirements and manufacturability needs.
• Experience with professional mechanical and FEA CAD tools, such as SolidWorks Simulation, Ansys, and Nastran.
• Design and build for manufacturing and cost.
• Expertise in CNC manufacturing and GD&T as evidenced by ability to implement and critique mechanical drawings.
• Experience with design and manufacturing of composite sandwich panels including an understanding of the trades and benefits of each in satellite structures.
• Experience in designing spacecraft primary and secondary structures in a variety of materials.
• Familiarity with design for test, manufacturability, assembly, and reliability.
• Familiarity with spacecraft AI&T.
• Hands-on experience supporting environmental test campaigns (vibe, shock, TVAC).

PREFERRED EXPERIENCE

• Experience including LEO, GEO, and beyond.
• Experience ranging from CubeSats and SmallSats to large GEO satellites.
• Python or other scripting capability
• Experience with two or more spacecraft structural and mechanical architectures which drives your vision for the next generation of spacecraft.

$142,000 - $189,000 a year

• Full-time employment offers include company stock options and a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability and retirement plans.

CesiumAstro considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills. Full-time employment offers include company stock options and a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, HSA, FSA, life, disability and retirement plans.

CesiumAstro is an Equal Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard torace, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Please note: CesiumAstro does not accept unsolicited resumes from contract agencies or search firms. Any unsolicited resumes submitted to our website or to CesiumAstro team members will be considered property of CesiumAstro, and we will not be obligated to pay any referral fees.