Propulsion Fluids Engineer - Flight Hardware

Cowboy Space Corporation; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

Health Insurance

401(k) retirement savings plan

Paid time off

Paid holidays

Parental leave

Relocation assistance

Office lunch and snacks

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. is building orbital infrastructure with a focus on propulsion fluids and spacecraft hardware. The Fluids Engineer will own a critical fluid subsystem from concept through flight, collaborating across propulsion, structures, thermal, avionics, and manufacturing teams.

The role emphasizes hands-on hardware development and rapid iteration in a fast-paced startup setting. The position requires a BS in an engineering field and 3+ years of fluid system design for high‑performance

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Chemical Engineering, or related field.
• 3+ years designing fluid system hardware for flight vehicles or high‑performance hardware.
• Experience taking hardware from concept through build, integration, and test.
• Strong fundamentals in fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, structural mechanics, materials and manufacturing.
• Experience with fluid system analysis: pressure drop and flow sizing, structural analysis of pressure vessels, or thermal‑fluid modeling.
• Proficiency with CAD and creating drawings to ASME Y14.5 GD&T standards.
• U.S. citizen, national, or lawful status to work in the U.S.

Responsibilities

• Own your fluid subsystem from concept through design, analysis, test, and flight.
• Drive fluid component and system designs for minimum mass while meeting requirements across ground, ascent, and on‑orbit environments.
• Design valves, fluid routing architectures, and storage hardware for propellant and pneumatic systems.
• Balance performance, manufacturability, cost, and schedule in every design decision.
• Perform hand calculations, FEA, tolerance stack‑ups and verify with test/flight data.
• Own fluid subsystem layout and integration across propulsion, thermal, and pneumatic systems.
• Define and execute qualification and acceptance test campaigns and write procedures.
• Develop and maintain drawings, models, specs, interface documents, and release docs.
• Work on the factory floor with manufacturing to resolve issues in real time.
• Troubleshoot hardware, perform root-cause analysis, and implement improvements.
• Support engine/vehicle integration, hot‑fire testing, fill/drain operations, and post‑test work.

Skills

Fluid system design

Hardware integration & test

Fluid mechanics

Thermodynamics

Heat transfer

Structural mechanics

Materials

Manufacturing processes

Fluid system analysis

Pressure drop calculations

Thermal-fluid modeling

CAD software

Propulsion fluid systems

Valve design

Pressure regulators

Cryogenic fluid handling

Propellant compatibility

Industry standards

Prototyping

Propulsion testing

Startup experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related field

Tools

CAD (NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, Creo)

Job description

Cowboy Space Corp. is building orbital infrastructure with a focus on propulsion fluids and spacecraft hardware. The Fluids Engineer will own a critical fluid subsystem from concept through flight, collaborating across propulsion, structures, thermal, avionics, and manufacturing teams.

The role emphasizes hands-on hardware development and rapid iteration in a fast-paced startup setting. The position requires a BS in an engineering field and 3+ years of fluid system design for high‑performance