Senior Mechanisms Engineer - Flight Hardware & Actuation

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

Benefits offered by this job

Equity stake

Health insurance

401(k)

Paid time off

10 paid holidays

Paid parental leave

Relocation support

Lunch on site

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. in the United States is seeking a Senior Mechanisms Engineer to own a critical vehicle mechanism subsystem from concept through flight.

Depending on priorities, assignment may cover separation systems, landing gear, aero control surfaces, or electromechanical actuation. This hands-on role collaborates with propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and launch operations to design, build, and verify hardware through tests, move quickly, iterate, and take full ownership of

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years designing mechanisms for flight vehicles or high-performance hardware.
• Experience from concept through build, integration, and test.
• Proficiency with CAD and ASME Y14.5 GD&T.
• Proficiency with FEA tools for mechanism load-path and dynamic problems.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or eligible for immigration status.

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

Structural mechanics

Kinematics

Manufacturing processes

Root cause analysis

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

CAD: NX/SolidWorks/CATIA/Creo

FEA: ANSYS/Nastran/Abaqus

Job description

Cowboy Space Corp. in the United States is seeking a Senior Mechanisms Engineer to own a critical vehicle mechanism subsystem from concept through flight.

Depending on priorities, assignment may cover separation systems, landing gear, aero control surfaces, or electromechanical actuation. This hands-on role collaborates with propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and launch operations to design, build, and verify hardware through tests, move quickly, iterate, and take full ownership of