Senior Electric Propulsion Engineer II

Rocket Lab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Top-tier medical plans

Dental and vision coverage

Paid vacation and sick time

11 paid holidays

Flexible spending accounts

Job summary

Rocket Lab in Long Beach, CA is seeking a Senior Electric Propulsion Engineer II to own propulsion system development for space vehicles and subsystems.

You will lead end-to-end design, modeling, analysis, and testing across civil, commercial, and defense programs, with mentorship and process improvement responsibilities.

Candidates should have 8+ years in propulsion, a BS in engineering, and the ability to obtain a security clearance; US citizenship required.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in propulsion system development, or equivalent high-performance field
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, (aerospace, mechanical,mechatronics,or other technical engineering discipline)
• Expertise inpropulsion system modelling,static and transientanalysis, and model validation using test datausingsoftware such asAmesim, EcosimPro,Simulink, or Simscape
• Experience withend-to-enddevelopment processincludinggatheringrequirements,detailed design,qualification,production,and acceptance testing
• Strong grasp of all steps in the Systems Engineering V and risk-based decision making
• Experience working onelectricpropulsion systems
• U.S. citizenshipis required, due to program requirements
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance

Responsibilities

• Own development of new or existing products or systems as technical lead through end-to-end development
• Perform conceptual and detailed performance calculations, modeling, analysis, and design
• Gather, define, and manage requirements
• Provide systems engineering leadership within the team
• Plan tests, set up instrumentation, run tests, analyze data
• Communicate with project stakeholders inside and outside the team
• Make risk-based decisions to select the best engineering solution
• Manage projects: scheduling, prioritization, mentoring, status reporting
• Mentor and coach teammates on technical and professional development
• Define and maintain team standards via docs, training, reviews
• Contribute to engineering process development and documentation at Rocket Lab

Skills

Propulsion system development

Systems engineering leadership

End-to-end development process

Risk-based decision making

Python for data manipulation

Excellent communication skills

U.S. citizenship

Security clearance ability

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

Amesim

EcosimPro

Simulink

Simscape

Job description

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity's reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine. Come shape the future with us.

About Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab is the end-to-end space company building rockets, spacecraft, and critical subsystems that keep the world connected, protected, expand humanity's reach to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. We move fast, build real hardware for meaningful missions, and make the impossible routine. Come shape the future with us.

SPACE SYSTEMS

At Rocket Lab, we’re not just launching rockets — we're building the future of space. Our Space Systems team builds everything from complete spacecraft, precision payloads to the components and subsystems that allow them to thrive in space, like solar panels, flight software, star trackers, optical systems, separation systems, radios, and more.

Our Space Systems team has enabled more than 1,700 missions, ranging from interplanetary exploration, in-space manufacturing to national security and defense initiatives. The team has built spacecraft, payloads, and components for missions to the Moon and Mars, working with partners including NASA, the Space Development Agency, and the U.S. Space Force. Whether it’s a single high-performance spacecraft, constellation, or the vertically integrated components that help them get to space — our world class Space Systems team is empowering some of the boldest and most ambitious space missions.

SENIOR ELECTRIC PROPULSION ENGINEER II

We’re currently seeking a Senior Electric Propulsion Engineer for our propulsion engineering team based out of Long Beach, CA. As an Electric Propulsion Engineer, you are responsible for system-level and component-level ownership of space systems propulsion and fluidic development. These teams support our Space Systems division, and lead cutting-edge programs for civil, commercial, and defense customers.

What You’ll Get To Do

• Own development of new or existing products or systems, acting as technical lead to guide team through end-to-end development process
• Conceptualand detailed performancecalculations,systems modelling,analysis, and system designs
• Requirements gathering, definition, and management
• Systems engineering activities and leadership within the team
• Testplanning, setup, instrumentation, execution, and data analysis
• Communicate with project stakeholders internal and external to the team
• Technical risk-based decision makingtotheright/bestsolutionwhenfacedwithan engineering challenge
• Project management, including: schedule building and maintenance,identifyingtop priority items,tasking ofother engineers and technicians, and communication of status to leadershipand other teams
• Mentor and coach people within the team on technical and professionaldevelopment
• Define and maintainstandardofexcellencefortheirteam through documentation, training, coaching, and review of others’ work
• Contribute to engineering process developmentanddocumentationat Rocket Lab related to areas of experience

You’ll Bring These Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in propulsion system development, or equivalent high-performance field
• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, (aerospace, mechanical,mechatronics,or other technical engineering discipline)
• Expertise inpropulsion system modelling,static and transientanalysis, and model validation using test datausingsoftware such asAmesim, EcosimPro,Simulink, or Simscape
• Experience withend-to-enddevelopment processincludinggatheringrequirements,detailed design,qualification,production,and acceptance testing
• Strong grasp of all steps in the Systems Engineering V and risk-based decision making
• Experience working onelectricpropulsion systems
• U.S. citizenshipis required, due to program requirements
• Ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance

These Qualifications Would Be Nice To Have

• A genuine passion for engineering, curious mindset, and willingness to learn
• Comfortable working with high levels of ambiguity
• Makes decisions using basic engineering principles, available literature and standards, technical risk assessments, test data, and physics-based models
• Practice inidentifying the necessary steps to achieve high level technical goals, scheduling them in a plan, and managing delivery againstthat plan
• Experience with Jama
• Capabilities using Python for data manipulation and post-processing
• Detailed mechanical design experience usingNX (preferred)orequivalent industry standard CADsoftware
• Experience with GD&T and engineering drawings
• Experience using Product Lifecycle Management software such as Teamcenter (preferred), Windchill, or similar
• Experience using National Instruments data acquisition systems
• Experience with testing and troubleshooting flight hardware
• Masters or PhD
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well within a team environment
• Demonstrated hands on engineering skills, inside or outside the workplace

This position may require prolonged periods of sitting, standing, walking, computer work, and occasional exposure to moderate levels of noise, dust, and fumes in production areas. Anticipated annual equity grant value is designed around function, level, experience, and other factors; realized value depends on vesting and stock-price performance. Join one of the world's fastest-growing space companies and own a piece of it. In addition to competitive base pay, you'll receive company stock as part of your total compensation package, giving you a direct stake in our success. As we expand to new launch sites, groundbreaking missions, and global markets, your ownership has the opportunity to grow alongside the company.

• Our industry-leading Employee Stock Purchase Program (with a 15% discount on company stock)
• top-tier medical plans (HMO, PPO, and a zero cost HDHP option with a significant HSA company contribution)
• dental and vision coverage
• paid vacation and sick time
• 11 paid holidays
• flexible spending and dependent care accounts