Senior Mechanical Lead, Spacecraft Structures & Deployables

CesiumAstro; Westminster (MD); On-site; USD 142,000 - 189,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

HSA

FSA

Retirement plans

Job summary

CesiumAstro is seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to lead a team of engineers responsible for mechanical aspects of spacecraft, subsystems, and interfaces throughout the development lifecycle.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience in satellite structures, CAD/FEA tools (SolidWorks, ANSYS, Nastran), and a demonstrated ability to drive design for manufacturing and reliability in space hardware. Strong communication and proposal skills are essential.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering from an accredited university.
• 11 years of experience in communications satellite structures and mechanisms design from concept to decommissioning across programs.
• At least 5 years of experience leading technical teams.
• Significant contributions to multiple flight missions, plus lead ownership of one or more full mechanical development cycles.
• Ability to support subsystem leads with clear mechanical interfaces and cross-functional alignment.
• Hands-on experience in satellite and large instrument AI&T that leads to design implementation.
• Strong opinions on engineering rigor and lean process.
• Experience including failure and recovery of mechanism operations in test and in operations, plus loss of mission risk.
• At least one experience with a structural failure in environmental test and recovery from that failure.
• Strong fundamentals in mechanics of materials, hand calcs, and engineering rules of thumb.
• Experience in conducting architectural trade studies including parametric and first-order cost and physical analysis.
• Experience as a reviewer for structural and thermal analysis to ensure manufacturability.
• Experience with professional mechanical and FEA CAD tools, such as SolidWorks Simulation, Ansys, and Nastran.
• Design and build for manufacturing and cost.
• Expertise in CNC manufacturing and GD&T.
• Experience with design and manufacturing of composite sandwich panels for satellites.
• Experience in designing spacecraft primary and secondary structures in various materials.
• Familiarity with design for test, manufacturability, assembly, and reliability.
• Familiarity with spacecraft AI&T.
• Hands-on experience supporting environmental test campaigns.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of engineers through all phases of mechanical development from concept to spaceflight.
• Oversee requirements definition, architectures, trades, and block diagrams for spacecraft structures.
• Direct manufacturing, assembly, testing, qualification, and in‑orbit support activities.
• Collaborate with GNC, EPS, CDH, Payload, RF, Systems, and AI&T teams.
• Present engineering design review materials to customers and executive team.
• Contribute to proposal writing efforts and win strategies.
• Mentor and grow a team of engineers and technologists.

Skills

Mechanical design

Team leadership

CAD (SolidWorks)

FEA/Simulation

Thermal design

Spacecraft structures

GD&T

Composite panels

Manufacturing for space

Analytical skills

Education

BS in Mechanical Engineering

MS in Aerospace Engineering

Tools

SolidWorks Simulation

ANSYS

NASTRAN

GD&T tools

Job description

CesiumAstro is seeking a Principal Mechanical Engineer to lead a team of engineers responsible for mechanical aspects of spacecraft, subsystems, and interfaces throughout the development lifecycle.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience in satellite structures, CAD/FEA tools (SolidWorks, ANSYS, Nastran), and a demonstrated ability to drive design for manufacturing and reliability in space hardware. Strong communication and proposal skills are essential.