Senior Mechanism Simulation Engineer

Industrious Ventures; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Base salary + equity-based comp

PTO and holidays

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Performance-based bonus

Job summary

Space Kinetic in El Segundo, CA seeks a Senior Mechanism Simulation Engineer to join the Mechanical Engineering team. You will design, analyze, and test prototype and flight hardware for the proprietary Whirlwind Payload and achieve a flight demonstration unit within two years.

Ideal candidates have 10+ years in aerospace structural analysis, strong CAD/CAE skills (NASTRAN, FEMAP, ANSYS, SolidWorks, NX), and hands-on vibration testing, with clearability eligibility and a passion for advancing

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in structural analysis for spacecraft or aerospace hardware.
• Experience with CAD/CAE packages and test data analysis for flight hardware.
• Ability to understand mission concepts, trajectories, and flight dynamics to derive design limits.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with manufacturing/engineering teams to analyze the Whirlwind Payload design and flight hardware.
• Provide detailed mechanism simulations for prototype and flight hardware.
• Assist with design verification, CAD feedback, and supplier interaction for components.
• Design and execute V&V tests to drive design improvements for space missions.
• Scale and optimize mechanism designs to enhance flight system performance.
• Conduct hardware validation and flight hardware qualification testing.

Skills

Structural analysis

Kinematics

Mathematical modeling

Test data interpretation

Vibration analysis

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in Aerospace/Mechanical/Structural Engineering

Tools

NASTRAN

FEMAP

ANSYS

SolidWorks

NX / Simcenter 3D

Amesim

Job description

A New Paradigm For Space Operations.

Who We Are:

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:

The Senior Mechanism Simulation Engineer will be an integral member of the Mechanical Engineering team. The primary responsibilities include the design analysis and test of prototype and flight hardware from the proprietary innovative electromechanical payload of Space Kinetic's core technology to achieve our mission, the flight demonstration unit, within the next 2 years, and the full production payload facility. This role is pivotal and requires high fidelity structural and kinematics analyses experience aligned with the proper kinematics testing (functional and qualification), test data processing to inform all necessary design changes that will drive the development of our future space mission operations success.

Responsibilities:

• Partner with the manufacturing/engineering teams to develop the innovative Whirlwind Payload design and analyze the corresponding flight hardware.
• Support the design team with detailed mechanisms simulations of the prototype and flight hardware.
• Assist with the development phases, conceiving and verifying the mechanism design, providing feedback to the CAD designs for manufacturing, and working closely with vendors to source components.
• Design the validation and verification (V&V) test that will drive the prototype design improvements and meet space operations mission requirements.
• Scaling and optimizing the mechanism designs to enhance the flight system performance.
• Hardware validation and verification as well as flight hardware qualification tests.

What It Takes:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or Structural Engineering.
• 10+ years of experience in structural analysis for spacecraft, launch vehicles, or equivalent aerospace hardware.
• Experience in space vehicle structural load requirements across all mission phases: ground handling, transportation, launch/ascent, separation events, on‑orbit operations, and disposal, is highly desirable.
• Ability to understand mission concepts, trajectory, motion kinematics and flight dynamics, derive structural design limit loads and requirements a plus.
• Understanding of design limit loads, calculate mechanical margins of safety utilizing applicable factors of safety per standards (NASA, DoD, ECSS, etc.).
• Experience with CAD and CAE packages (NASTRAN, FEMAP, ANSYS, SolidWorks, NX, Simcenter 3D, Vibroacoustic, Thermal Desktop, NX Motion, Amesim etc.) is necessary.
• Ability to develop mathematical models and perform simulations to calculate structural margins, kinematics simulations, dynamics environments.
• Experience in designing and executing system and subsystem dynamics and kinematics testing of flight hardware, understanding test data acquisition and adept at implementing design improvements based on test data.
• Evaluate static, dynamic, transient, shock, random and sine vibration as well as vibroacoustic and kinematics environments.
• Work closely with Structures, Thermal, GNC, Propulsion, manufacturing and System Engineering functional teams.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Government Security Clearance.

What We’d Love

• Advanced Degrees (Master’s or Ph.D.) in similar discipline are highly desirable with corresponding technical expertise in linear, nonlinear and motion dynamics analysis.
• Experience with space‑rated structural mechanisms component design analysis and test.
• Robotics experience, particularly in simulating articulation and complex mechanisms
• Experience working with rotating machinery
• Hands‑on experience in testing mechanical hardware for space operations.
• Passion for technology development of complex space operations.
• Demonstrated experience in spacecraft or launch vehicle system development.
• Experience in the proposal writing process for the acquisition of grants and contracts.
• Ability to build and maintain a network of talented individuals. Prioritizes organizational and planning skills.

Where You’ll Be:

• The position is onsite 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
• Unique Performance-Based Bonus Structure

ITAR Requirements:

This position is subject to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Candidates must be a U.S. Person (this includes U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident, Protected Individual as defined by law), or 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

$140,000 — $200,000 USD