Senior Mechanical Design Engineer: Hypersonic Structures & TPS

Castelion Corporation; Torrance (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Castelion Corporation is seeking a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to craft flight vehicle structures and integrate with the TPS. You will drive high-temperature architectures and coordinate with multidisciplinary teams to deliver flight-critical hardware.

The role emphasizes separates nose tip concepts, thermal protection interfaces, and robust structural systems for a fast-paced, hardware-driven program. 5+ years in aerospace is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in structural design and analysis for aerospace or high-performance systems.
• Strong background in high-temperature structures and materials, particularly in TPS-adjacent or aerothermal environments.
• Experience with design of separation systems, joints, and structural interfaces for flight hardware.
• Proficiency in CAD and analysis tools (NX, SolidWorks, ANSYS).
• Experience with thermal-structural coupling and tolerance stack-up.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop flight vehicle structures, including separating nose tip systems and TPS interfaces.
• Lead architecture and detailed design of high-temperature structural assemblies and load paths.
• Perform structural and thermal analyses for extreme aerothermal environments.
• Collaborate with materials, TPS, aerothermal, GNC, and manufacturing teams for integrated design.
• Develop and analyze separation mechanisms and interfaces for reliable flight operation.
• Support prototyping, assembly, and hardware bring-up with root-cause analysis.
• Define qualification and environmental test plans (thermal, vibration, shock).
• Optimize designs for mass, thermal performance, and manufacturability.

Skills

Structural analysis

Aerospace experience

Problem solving

Team leadership

Education

Mechanical Engineering degree

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

ANSYS

Job description

Castelion Corporation is seeking a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer to craft flight vehicle structures and integrate with the TPS. You will drive high-temperature architectures and coordinate with multidisciplinary teams to deliver flight-critical hardware.

The role emphasizes separates nose tip concepts, thermal protection interfaces, and robust structural systems for a fast-paced, hardware-driven program. 5+ years in aerospace is expected.