Senior Aerospace Mechanisms Engineer

Castelion; Rio Rancho (NM); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Castelion is seeking a Senior Mechanisms Engineer to design and deliver high-performance mechanical actuation systems for advanced aerospace vehicles. You will work with multidisciplinary teams to develop elevon drive trains and related actuation mechanisms capable of withstanding extreme flight conditions.

The role requires leading architecture and detailed design, performing rigorous loads and life assessments, and ensuring seamless integration with control electronics, GNC, and avionics.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in mechanism design, analysis, and validation for aerospace or high-performance mechanical systems.
• Experience designing electromechanical actuators (EMAs) for aerospace or demanding applications.
• Familiarity with motor-driven actuation systems, torque transmission, and position feedback mechanisms.
• Experience designing control surface drive systems or similar high-load, high-reliability mechanisms.
• Proficiency in CAD and analysis tools (NX, SolidWorks, ANSYS, or equivalent).
• Experience with structural analysis, fatigue/life assessment, and tolerance stack-up analysis.
• Familiarity with high-temperature materials, lubrication strategies, and operation in extreme environments.
• Experience with hardware build, test, and troubleshooting in a lab or flight hardware environment.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop mechanical actuation systems, including elevon drive trains and control surface mechanisms, for high-speed flight vehicles.
• Lead the architecture and detailed design of mechanisms, including gear trains, linkages, bearings, and structural components.
• Perform analysis of loads, stresses, deflections, and dynamic behavior to ensure performance and reliability under extreme environments.
• Work closely with control electronics, GNC, avionics, and structures teams to ensure seamless integration of mechanisms with vehicle systems.
• Conduct tolerance analysis, lubrication strategy development, and life/reliability assessments for high-duty-cycle systems.
• Support prototyping, assembly, and hardware bring-up, including troubleshooting and root cause analysis of mechanism performance issues.
• Define and execute qualification and environmental test plans, including vibration, thermal, and shock testing.
• Optimize designs for mass, stiffness, reliability, and manufacturability.
• Mentor junior engineers and contribute to best practices in mechanism design and analysis.
• Partner closely with program leadership to make technical trades aligned with mission success.

Skills

Mechanism design

Analysis & validation

Troubleshooting

Problem-solving mindset

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD in Mechanical Engineering or related field

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

ANSYS

Job description

Castelion is seeking a Senior Mechanisms Engineer to design and deliver high-performance mechanical actuation systems for advanced aerospace vehicles. You will work with multidisciplinary teams to develop elevon drive trains and related actuation mechanisms capable of withstanding extreme flight conditions.

The role requires leading architecture and detailed design, performing rigorous loads and life assessments, and ensuring seamless integration with control electronics, GNC, and avionics.