Project Engineer / AI&T Technical Lead

Mclaurin Aerospace; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% Employer paid insurance

11 paid holidays annually

Generous PTO

401k with employer match

Job summary

Mclaurin Aerospace is seeking a Project Engineer / AI&T Technical Lead to join our team at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. In this role, you will lead the testing and integration efforts for the Suit Mass Simulator, coordinating activities across multiple disciplines.

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's degree in Engineering and 5-10 years of experience, preferably in aerospace. We offer competitive pay, a positive work-life balance, and full employer-paid insurance.

Qualifications

• 5-10 years of experience in engineering, preferably in aerospace or defense.
• Experience in hardware assembly, integration, and test execution.
• Strong capability to lead in a matrixed work environment.

Responsibilities

• Lead the testing efforts for the Suit Mass Simulator.
• Coordinate hardware assembly and integration activities.
• Support development of test plans and readiness reviews.

Skills

Technical communication skills

Project management

Integration testing

Anomaly resolution

Coordination across disciplines

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Job description

Are you passionate about human space exploration, understanding the origins of the universe, and working with a passionate and diverse team to make a difference? If you are, we need you!

We need your talent, teamwork, and energy to help us achieve great things that inspire people all over the globe. We need you to bring creative ideas and diverse backgrounds to help us envision, shape, and deliver systems that will enable the exploration of space while benefiting people here on Earth. We are excited about what we do, and we need you on our team as we take on exciting challenges for NASA's pursuits in deep space exploration.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Project Engineer / AI&T Technical Lead to join our JETS II contract team at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX.

If selected you will:

• Lead the Assembly, Integration, and Test effort for the Suit Mass Simulator, including planning, coordination, execution, and technical oversight of hardware build and test activities.
• Coordinate the assembly of Suit Mass Simulator components, subcomponents, and subsystems, ensuring proper configuration, documentation, inspection, and readiness for integration.
• Lead integration of the Suit Mass Simulator hardware with itself and with vehicle interfaces, including HLS lander systems such as Command and Data Handling, structures, power, mechanical interfaces, instrumentation, and related support equipment.
• Develop and maintain AI&T plans, build flows, test flows, integration schedules, risk items, open work tracking, and readiness criteria.
• Coordinate across engineering disciplines, including systems engineering, mechanical, electrical, avionics, software, instrumentation, operations, safety, quality, configuration management, and test teams.
• Support development and execution of hardware test plans, test procedures, verification activities, functional checks, interface tests, and integrated system tests.
• Ensure hardware build and test activities are performed in accordance with NASA-JSC flight hardware standards (EA-WI-023) project requirements, safety expectations, configuration management practices, and quality processes.
• Support readiness reviews, test readiness reviews, integration reviews, procedure reviews, and other technical milestone reviews.
• Track and resolve technical issues, discrepancies, nonconformances, integration conflicts, and test anomalies.
• Coordinate with vehicle, payload, and mission stakeholders to ensure Suit Mass Simulator requirements, interfaces, constraints, and data collection objectives are understood and properly implemented.
• Support development of operational products required for flight test execution, including test objectives, data collection plans, telemetry/data needs, constraints, troubleshooting plans, and post-test data review support.
• Provide real-time or near‑real‑time technical support during in‑flight test activities while the Suit Mass Simulator is collecting launch environment characterization data.
• Communicate technical status, risks, schedule impacts, resource needs, and decision points to project leadership and stakeholders.

Qualifications:

• Typically requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree in Engineering and normally possess 5–10 years of related experience. License and certification may be required.
• Bachelor's degree in engineering, physical science, or a related technical discipline.
• Experience supporting NASA, aerospace, defense, or complex flight‑like hardware development, integration, and test.
• Demonstrated experience with hardware assembly, integration, test planning, test execution, and anomaly resolution.
• Understanding of flight hardware build discipline, including configuration control, quality processes, procedure‑driven work, inspection points, and documentation requirements.
• Experience coordinating across multiple technical disciplines and managing complex hardware/software/mechanical/electrical interfaces.
• Ability to lead technical work in a matrixed environment where contributors may report through different organizations.
• Ability to develop and maintain build plans, test plans, schedules, action item trackers, risk lists, and technical status products.
• Strong technical communication skills, including the ability to brief project leadership, coordinate with subsystem owners, and document technical decisions.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast‑paced project environment with evolving requirements, tight schedules, and multiple stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with NASA‑JSC flight hardware build, test, and integration processes.
• Experience supporting human spaceflight programs, exploration systems, crew systems, EVA, lunar surface systems, HLS, Gateway, Orion, ISS, or similar programs.
• Experience with Assembly, Integration, and Test of flight or flight‑like hardware.
• Experience supporting integrated testing involving structures, avionics, power, C&DH, instrumentation, telemetry, or vehicle interfaces.
• Experience with test readiness reviews, certification/acceptance testing, verification closeout, discrepancy reporting, and nonconformance resolution.
• Experience supporting hardware operations in labs, high‑bay environments, clean rooms, vehicle integration environments, or launch/in‑flight support environments.
• Experience with configuration management, requirements management, interface control documents, engineering change processes, and controlled build documentation.
• Experience supporting real‑time test or mission operations, including console support, troubleshooting, data review, or post‑test reporting.
• Project engineering, deputy project manager, test director, lead systems engineer, AI&T lead, or technical lead experience.

Benefits

• Competitive pay
• Positive work‑life balance
• 100% Employer paid insurance including: Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, short‑term disability, and long‑term disability
• 11 paid holidays annually
• Generous PTO
• 401k after 12 months of service with employer match
• Education assistance
• Relocation assistance (if applicable)

Mclaurin is a unique organization with a special focus on combining the best features of research and industry in order to foster innovation. Our organization strongly supports research, publication, and engagement with the academic community. We encourage our employees to remain on the cutting edge of new developments in their respective disciplines.

US Citizenship and the ability to pass a comprehensive security background investigation is required.

Mclaurin is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status or other characteristics protected by law.