Senior Machine Design Engineer

Space Kinetic; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base salary

Equity-based compensation

PTO and Holidays

Medical, dental, and vision

Job summary

Space Kinetic in El Segundo, CA is seeking a Senior Machine Design Engineer to design, analyze, prototype, and validate complex machines, precision mechanisms, and electromechanical systems for aerospace environments.

You will own hardware from initial requirements through detailed design and production, perform stress, fatigue, deflection, and tolerance analyses, and select bearings, motors, gearboxes, and related components to deliver flight-ready hardware with manufacturability in mind.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 7+ years of professional experience designing complex machines.
• Advanced proficiency in SolidWorks and detailed manufacturing drawings.
• Strong knowledge of machine design, GD&T, and tolerance analysis.
• Experience using hand calculations and FEA to guide and validate mechanical designs.

Responsibilities

• Develop mechanical architectures and concepts for complex machines.
• Own hardware from initial requirements through production.
• Perform engineering calculations covering stress, fatigue, deflection, thermal expansion, and tolerance stack-ups.
• Select and integrate bearings, motors, gearboxes, ball screws, linear guides, springs, clutches, fasteners, and related components.
• Create production-ready SolidWorks models, detailed manufacturing drawings, interfaces, and GD&T specifications.
• Apply Design for Manufacturing and Design for Assembly principles while working with suppliers and manufacturing teams.
• Build and test prototypes, root-cause hardware failures, and implement corrective design actions.
• Support qualification and environmental testing, including vibration, shock, and thermal-vacuum testing.

Skills

Mechanical design

GD&T

FEA

SolidWorks

Hardware prototyping

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

CNC machining

Additive manufacturing

Job description

Space Kinetic is a dual use space technology startup building a completely new architecture for space operations – one that brings the advantages of proliferated drone technology (low-cost, operationally flexible, attainable, distributed) to space missions while reducing the ecosystem's reliance on consumable fuel. In a world where many companies are focused on incrementally improving the status quo, we are focused on creating something entirely different – an architecture underpinned by new first principles to meet the opportunities and challenges of the third space age head-on. Our goal is to move away from one-to-one space architectures – where each satellite in a constellation has one (or a small # of) primary payloads attached to the bus -- and unlock a ‘one-to-many’ system, where each satellite has a large number of payloads which can be deployed from their host spacecraft at high velocities without firing a thruster.

This is not a role for someone looking for a traditional 40-hour work week. Space Kinetic is building ambitious, first-of-its-kind technology, and that requires urgency, ownership, and a high level of commitment to changing the foundational assumptions for everything we do in space.

What You’ll Do:

We are seeking a Senior Machine Design Engineer to design, analyze, prototype, and validate complex machines, precision mechanisms, and electromechanical systems. This individual will apply first-principles engineering and practical machine-design experience to develop robust, manufacturable hardware for demanding aerospace environments. The role will work closely with engineering, manufacturing, test , suppliers, and program leadership to deliver flight-ready systems.

Job Responsibilities:

• Develop mechanical architectures and concepts for complex machines, precision mechanisms, structures, and assemblies.
• Own hardware from initial requirements and trade studies through detailed design, prototyping, qualification, and production.
• Perform engineering calculations covering stress, fatigue, deflection, thermal expansion, and tolerance stack-ups.
• Select and integrate bearings, motors, gearboxes, ball screws, linear guides, springs, clutches, fasteners, and related components.
• Create production-ready SolidWorks models, detailed manufacturing drawings, interfaces, and GD&T specifications.
• Apply Design for Manufacturing and Design for Assembly principles while working with suppliers and manufacturing teams.
• Build and test prototypes, root-cause hardware failures, and implement corrective design actions.
• Support qualification and environmental testing, including vibration, shock, and thermal-vacuum testing.

What It Takes:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of professional experience designing complex machines, mechanical systems, or precision mechanisms.
• Advanced proficiency in SolidWorks and experience creating detailed manufacturing drawings.
• Strong knowledge of machine design, mechanical component selection, GD&T, and tolerance analysis.
• Experience using hand calculations and FEA to guide and validate mechanical designs.
• Working knowledge of CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, welding, additive manufacturing, and related production processes.
• Demonstrated experience taking hardware from concept through prototype, test, qualification, and production.
• Ability to maintain a U.S. Goverment security clearance.

What We'd Love:

• Experience designing aerospace, spacecraft, defense, robotics, industrial automation, or other high-performance electromechanical systems.
• Experience with gear trains, linkages, cams, bearings, belt and chain drives, linear-motion systems, and direct-drive motors.
• Experience designing springs, dampers, or other energy-storage and motion-control mechanisms.
• Experience developing hardware for vibration, shock, thermal-vacuum, and other demanding environments.
• Familiarity with MATLAB or Python for engineering calculations and analysis.
• Experience supporting flight hardware qualification, configuration control, and production.

Where You'll Be:

The position will be on site at our headquarters in El Segundo, CA.

What We Offer:

• Competitive Base Salary + Equity-Based Compensation
• Highly Competitive PTO and Holiday Calendar
• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage

ITAR Requirements:

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (aka green card holder), (iii) Refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) Asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, or be eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here

Equal Employment Opportunity:

Space Kinetic provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, disability or any other legally protected status.

The annual base salary for this role is below. Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education/experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.

Pay Range

$120,000 - $160,000 USD

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Space Kinetic's Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp .

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your "major life activities." If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

• Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
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• Blind or low vision
• Cancer (past or present)
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• Cerebral palsy
• Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
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• Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
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• Intellectual or developmental disability
• Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
• Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
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