Senior Mechanical Engineer, Spacecraft Hardware

Viasat; Tempe (AZ); On-site; USD 181,000 - 337,000; Full time

Job summary

Viasat is seeking a highly motivated Senior Staff Mechanical Engineer to lead the design, development, qualification, and production transition of spacecraft hardware for next-generation satellite platforms.

You will oversee mechanical programs, mentor engineers, and collaborate across systems, thermal, electrical, manufacturing, reliability, and supply chain to ensure on-time, cost-effective solutions. This role requires U.S. Citizenship and extensive spaceflight hardware experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• Typically 12+ years of mechanical engineering experience with spaceflight hardware development.
• Experience providing top-level technical leadership for major mechanical subsystems on spacecraft or aerospace platforms.
• Design and qualification experience for flight hardware and environmental testing.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and architecture of satellite structures, mechanisms, electronics packaging, and deployable systems.
• Define technical challenges, conduct trade studies, and establish engineering solutions balancing performance, schedule, cost, and risk.
• Own mechanical subsystem from concept through qualification, production, launch, and on-orbit support.
• Direct analyses in structural, thermal, vibration, shock, and environmental domains.
• Lead executive Design Reviews (PDR/CDR/TRR/FRR) and mentor staff across teams.

Skills

Technical leadership

Spaceflight hardware

Mechanical design

Systems collaboration

Review & qualification

Mentorship

CAD tools

Analyses (structural/thermal)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Creo

SolidWorks

NX

ANSYS/Nastran/Simcenter

Thermal Desktop

Job description

Viasat is seeking a highly motivated Senior Staff Mechanical Engineer to lead the design, development, qualification, and production transition of spacecraft hardware for next-generation satellite platforms.

You will oversee mechanical programs, mentor engineers, and collaborate across systems, thermal, electrical, manufacturing, reliability, and supply chain to ensure on-time, cost-effective solutions. This role requires U.S. Citizenship and extensive spaceflight hardware experience.