Senior Mechanisms Engineer: Flight Actuators

Cowboy Space Corp.; Kent (WA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement savings plan

Paid time off

Relocation assistance

Daily lunch in the office

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. is seeking a Senior Mechanisms Engineer to own a critical vehicle mechanism subsystem from concept to flight. You will collaborate across propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and operations to design, build, and validate mechanisms that influence mission success.

You will work hands-on on the factory floor, iterate rapidly, and ensure robust performance across ascent, entry, landing, and reuse environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience designing mechanisms or mechanical systems for flight vehicles or high-performance hardware.
• Experience taking hardware from concept through build, integration, and test.
• Strong fundamentals in structural mechanics, kinematics, materials, and manufacturing processes.
• Proficiency with CAD (NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, or Creo) and creating engineering drawings to ASME Y14.5 GD&T standards.
• Proficiency with FEA tools (ANSYS, Nastran, or Abaqus) for mechanism load-path and dynamic problems.

Responsibilities

• Own your mechanism subsystem from concept through design, analysis, test, and flight.
• Drive structural and kinematic design for minimum mass while meeting strength, stiffness, fatigue, and operational-life requirements across ascent, entry, landing, and reuse environments.
• Balance performance, manufacturability, cost, and schedule in every design decision.
• Perform analysis – hand calculations, FEA, tolerance stack-ups – and validate predictions with test and flight data.
• Define and execute qualification and acceptance test campaigns; author procedures, acceptance criteria, and anomaly dispositions.
• Develop and maintain engineering drawings, models, and release documentation.
• Work directly on the factory floor with manufacturing to iterate quickly and resolve build issues in real time.
• Troubleshoot hardware anomalies, perform root cause analysis, and implement design improvements.
• Support launch operations, post-flight inspection, and refurbishment planning.

Skills

Mechanism design

CAD software

Finite element analysis

Engineering drawings

Structural mechanics

Kinematics

Materials

Manufacturing processes

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

CATIA

Creo

ANSYS

Nastran

Abaqus

Job description

Cowboy Space Corp. is seeking a Senior Mechanisms Engineer to own a critical vehicle mechanism subsystem from concept to flight. You will collaborate across propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and operations to design, build, and validate mechanisms that influence mission success.

You will work hands-on on the factory floor, iterate rapidly, and ensure robust performance across ascent, entry, landing, and reuse environments.