Senior Mechanical Engineer

Astranis; United States; On-site; USD 145,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity and robust benefits

On-site catered meals

401(k) retirement planning

Job summary

Astranis is seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to own the complete lifecycle of spacecraft subsystems, driving improvements and new designs for our high-orbit missions.

You will mentor junior engineers, apply hands-on testing, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure performance, manufacturability, and reliable operation in space environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or master's in mechanical or aerospace engineering.
• 4–15 years of mechanical design or equivalent experience.
• Strong CAD design (SolidWorks) and Finite Element Analysis (Femap, Ansys) skills.
• Experience with GD&T and designing for manufacturability.
• Proven ability to design, evaluate, and procure complex mechanical assemblies with 30–40 components in aerospace or similar.
• A passion for hardware development with hands-on design and development experience.
• Proven leadership and mentoring experience.

Responsibilities

• Own product outcomes for spaceflight hardware from concept to delivery.
• Develop requirements for subsystems: loads, interfaces, and functionality.
• Perform mechanical design and analysis of complex assemblies for launch and on-orbit use.
• Define design best practices for future programs.
• Manage system-level schedule and integration with AIT teams.
• Assist in recruiting and hiring new teammates.

Skills

SolidWorks

Finite Element Analysis

GD&T

Mentoring

Education

B.S./M.S. in mechanical or aerospace engineering

Tools

SolidWorks

Femap

Ansys

Job description

Astranis builds advanced satellites for high orbits, expanding humanity’s reach into the solar system. Today, Astranis satellites provide dedicated, secure networks to highly-sophisticated customers across the globe— large enterprises, sovereign governments, and the US military. With five satellites on orbit and many more set to launch soon, the company is servicing a backlog of more than $1 billion of commercial contracts.

Astranis is the preferred satellite communications partner for buyers with stringent requirements for uptime, data security, network visibility, and customization. Astranis has raised over $750 million from some of the world’s best investors, from Andreessen Horowitz to Blackrock and Fidelity, and employs a team of 450 engineers and entrepreneurs. Astranis designs, builds, and operates its satellites out of its 153,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Northern California, USA.

Senior Mechanical Engineer

As an Astranis Senior Mechanical Engineer you will own the complete lifecycle of various subsystems on our spacecraft. Whether it is incremental improvements or the introduction of a new system, you will work together with the various other teams at Astranis to make them a reality.
In addition to being a significant individual on your own, you will mentor and train junior mechanical engineers on such projects. You must have a strong problem-solving background, hands-on testing skills, and preferably some experience with spacecraft and/or aerospace engineering.

Role

• Complete ownership of product outcomes for spaceflight hardware
• Develop requirements for subsystems and components including loads, interfaces, and functional requirements
• Perform mechanical design and analysis of complex assemblies to satisfy launch and on-orbit requirements
• Develop and define design best practices for future programs
• Manage system level schedule and integration requirements for your subsystems while working together with the Assembly, Integration, and Test team to enable a smooth build process
• Assist in recruiting, interviewing, and hiring additional teammates to our rapidly-growing team.

Requirements

• B.S. or M.S in mechanical, aerospace engineering or equivalent
• 4 – 15 years of mechanical design or equivalent experience
• Strong CAD design (Solidworks) and Finite Element analysis (Femap, Ansys) skills
• Experience with GD&T and designing for manufacturability
• Demonstrated ability to personally design, evaluate, and procure complex mechanical assemblies with 30-40 components in aerospace or similar
• A passion for hardware development, including working in a fast-paced environment with hands-on design and development
• A motivated leader who has experience mentoring and supporting junior engineers

Bonus

• Experience with defining vibration environments and running mechanical testing on spacecraft and spacecraft components
• Experience running a development program while delegating to a small team
• Experience in synthesizing requirements and flowing them down to sub-scale verification builds and testing

What we offer:

• All our positions offer a compensation package that includes equity and robust benefits.
• Base pay is just one component of Astranis’s total rewards package. Your compensation also includes a significant equity package via incentive stock options, high-quality company-subsidized healthcare, disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement planning, flexible PTO, and free on-site catered meals.
• Astranis pay ranges are informed and defined through professional-grade salary surveys and compensation data sources. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, and the level and scope of the position.
• Base Salary
• $145,000—$195,000 USD

U.S. Citizenship, Lawful Permanent Residency, or Refugee/Asylee Status Required

(To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States, or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3))

Our mission and our products are meant to connect the world and everyone in it, regardless of gender, race, creed, or any other distinction.

We believe in a diverse and inclusive workplace, and we encourage all people to join our team and bring their unique perspective to help make us stronger.