Senior Engine Lead - Cryogenic Propulsion System

Orbital Operations, Inc.; Long Beach, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Orbital Operations in Long Beach, CA seeks an Engine Responsible Engineer to own end-to-end development of a large LOX/LH2 rocket engine system. This senior, hands-on role leads design, development, testing, and flight readiness, guiding architecture through qualification and flight with technical ownership.

You will oversee tubing, P&IDs, turbomachinery, combustion devices, valves, instrumentation, controls interfaces, and test operations, shaping roadmaps, managing risks, and coordinating with

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering or a closely related field.
• Direct experience supporting a large cryogenic rocket engine through design, development and testing.
• Demonstrated technical ownership of a complete engine or major engine subsystem.
• Strong understanding of liquid rocket engine systems, cryogenic fluids, thermodynamics and fluid mechanics.
• Experience designing tubing, P&IDs, and propulsion-test documentation.
• Willingness to work hands-on with hardware and on-call test operations.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Responsible Engineer and primary technical owner for the main engine from development through qualification and flight.
• Define and refine the engine-development strategy, priorities, test progression, and phase-advancement criteria.
• Maintain system-level understanding of the complete engine, including tubing, instrumentation, controls, and thermals.
• Identify key technical risks and develop focused analyses and test plans to retire them.
• Lead or review engine-system analyses, simulations, and trade studies.
• Review data and translate test results into design improvements.

Skills

Engine ownership

Cryogenic engine

Leadership

P&ID design

Test planning

System engineering

Education

Bachelor's in Mechanical/Aerospace

Tools

LabVIEW

Matlab

CFD

Job description

Orbital Operations in Long Beach, CA seeks an Engine Responsible Engineer to own end-to-end development of a large LOX/LH2 rocket engine system. This senior, hands-on role leads design, development, testing, and flight readiness, guiding architecture through qualification and flight with technical ownership.

You will oversee tubing, P&IDs, turbomachinery, combustion devices, valves, instrumentation, controls interfaces, and test operations, shaping roadmaps, managing risks, and coordinating with