Propulsion Engineer III (Valves)

Firefly Aerospace, Inc.

Cedar Park (TX)

On-site

USD 120,000 - 190,000

Full time

26 hours ago

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Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO for exempt employees

3-month sabbatical for every 5 years

Medical, dental, vision, life, anddis-

Mental health services

Paid military leave

12 weeks paid maternity leave

4 weeks paid spouse leave

$20k towards family planning

Dog friendly workplace

$10k/year towards trade school or toll

Ongoing leadership coaching

Employee-ownership with stock bonuses

4% Safe Harbor 401(k) matching

$10k home purchase bonus in Cedar Park

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. in Texas seeks a senior engineer to own cradle-to-grave valve and fluid-system design for our launch vehicles and space hardware.

You will shape propulsion components and lead the development lifecycle from concept through qualification. Requirements include a BS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering and 8+ years in valve or fluid-system design, with GD&T, FEA/CFD, and cryogenic experience.

Qualifications

BS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering (or similar).
6+ years in valve or fluid-system design.
Strong foundations in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, structures, and materials.
Knowledge of fluid-systems sizing, valve design/operation, instrumentation, and integration.
Proficient in analytical/numerical modeling of engineering devices and processes.
Ability to manage complex projects in a collaborative, fast-paced environment.
Demonstrated interest in advancing 'newspace'.
Self-motivated with minimal direction.

Responsibilities

Form cradle-to-grave roadmap for hardware.
Design, develop and deliver propulsion components to high-performance systems.
Own development lifecycle and production support as technical expert.
Own a mix of Firefly and COTS valves, regulators, and actuators.
Lead qualification, MRRs, PDRs, TRRs, and data reviews with hands-on problem solving.
Develop and execute qualification and acceptance test plans.

Skills

Valve design

Fluid systems

Mechanical engineering

GD&T

Project management

Education

BS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

CAD (SolidWorks)

FEA/CFD tools

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.

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Let the good times roll...to the Moon!
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Two bold Texas companies, Firefly and ...

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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

Space for Your Future

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

Building a reliable launch vehicle requires the highest quality valves available. Firefly's components team scope, design, build, test, and qualify high-performance fluid components tailored to the specific needs of our launch vehicles, moon landers, and other spacecraft. This Responsible Engineering role has full ownership of your hardware through the entire product lifecycle; from conception through qualification and handoff to production.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Formulate the entire cradle to grave roadmap for your hardware.
Conceptualize, design, develop and deliver propulsion components to high performance systems.
Responsible for entire development lifecycle and production support as the technical expert.
Own a combination of Firefly developed and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTs) valves, regulators and actuators.
Prepare content for and lead CoDRs, MRR, PDRs, TRRs, data reviews and CDRs.
Author and execute qualification, and acceptance test plans with hands on hardware problem solving.
Work to standardize solutions across programs and product lines.
Improve mission cadence by identifying and implementing cost saving and risk reduction measures.
Lead cross-functional teams of analysts, manufacturing engineers, quality engineers, supply chain representatives, and test engineers to deliver tested hardware on time.
Resolve non-conformances and implement design changes to improve product yield and manufacturability.
Work with the program teams to develop hardware upgrades in alignment with ambitious performance and cost goals.
Develop simulation-based design methods and validate using subscale and full-scale testing.
Lead failure investigations to determine root cause and implement mitigations.
Qualify existing and new product lines following guidance from SMC-S-016 and S-080 as applicable.
Manage multiple projects and competing priorities.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

BS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or similar.
6+ years of experience in a valve or fluid system design-related role.
Exceptional comprehension of engineering fundamentals including fluid mechanics, heat transfer, structural analysis, materials, and processes.
Strong understanding of fluid systems aspects such as fluids systems sizing, valve design and operation, instrumentation, flexible element design & integration and fluid fittings.
Skilled in creating analytical/numerical models of engineering devices and processes.
Ability to successfully manage complex projects.
Works well in a collaborative, fast paced, multidisciplinary environment.
Demonstrated interest in advancing 'newspace'.
Self-motivated with minimum direction required.
Ability to creatively develop economical solutions.
Served as a Responsible Engineer for an aerospace or oil & gas development project in a fluids related subsystem.
8+ years of experience in a valve or fluid system design-related role.
Proficient with GD&T.
Proficient with DFM.
Proficient with FEA and/or CFD analysis.
Knowledge of high-pressure, cryogenic, hydraulic, and pneumatic systems.
Experience with valve and regulator design.
Experience with liquid oxygen or other cryogenic operations.
Experience with rapid development techniques for hardware.

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.

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