Senior Flight Mechanisms Engineer – Separation & Gear

Socket.dev; Kent (WA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

Medical/dental/vision insurance

401(k)

Paid time off

Relocation assistance

Lunch on site

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. is seeking a Mechanisms Engineer to own a critical vehicle mechanism subsystem from concept to flight. You will work with propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and launch operations to design, build, and validate mechanisms across ascent, entry, landing, and reuse environments.

The role requires hands‑on hardware development, strong CAD/FEA skills, and the ability to iterate on designs on the factory floor. U.S. citizenship or eligible status is required for ITAR compliance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years designing mechanisms or mechanical systems for flight vehicles or high‑performance hardware.
• Experience taking hardware from concept through build, integration, and test.
• Strong fundamentals in structural mechanics, kinematics, materials, and manufacturing processes.
• Proficiency with CAD and creating engineering drawings to ASME Y14.5 GD&T standards.
• Proficiency with FEA tools for mechanism load-path and dynamic problems.
• U.S. citizen or eligible to work in the U.S., ITAR restrictions may apply.

Responsibilities

• Own your mechanism subsystem from concept through design, analysis, test, and flight.
• Drive structural and kinematic design for minimum mass while meeting strength, stiffness, fatigue, and operational-life requirements across ascent, entry, landing, and reuse environments.
• Balance performance, manufacturability, cost, and schedule in every design decision.
• Perform analysis — hand calculations, FEA, tolerance stack‑ups — and validate predictions with test and flight data.
• Define and execute qualification and acceptance test campaigns; author procedures, acceptance criteria, and anomaly dispositions.
• Develop and maintain engineering drawings, models, and release documentation.
• Work directly on the factory floor with manufacturing to iterate quickly and resolve build issues in real time.
• Troubleshoot hardware anomalies, perform root cause analysis, and implement design improvements.
• Support launch operations, post‑flight inspection, and refurbishment planning.

Skills

Mechanisms design

Flight hardware

CAD

FEA

GD&T

Education

B.S. Mechanical Engineering

B.S. Aerospace Engineering

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

CATIA

Creo

ANSYS

Nastran

Abaqus

Job description

Cowboy Space Corp. is seeking a Mechanisms Engineer to own a critical vehicle mechanism subsystem from concept to flight. You will work with propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and launch operations to design, build, and validate mechanisms across ascent, entry, landing, and reuse environments.

The role requires hands‑on hardware development, strong CAD/FEA skills, and the ability to iterate on designs on the factory floor. U.S. citizenship or eligible status is required for ITAR compliance.