Senior Mechanisms Engineer — Spaceflight Hardware Lead

Cowboy Space Corp.; San Carlos (CA); On-site; CAD 213,000 - 256,000; 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

10 paid holidays per calendar year

Paid parental leave

Relocation assistance if applicable

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 through flight.

Depending on priorities, your focus may be separation systems, landing gear, aero control surfaces, or electromechanical actuation. This is a hands-on role at the center of vehicle hardware development with close collaboration across propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and launch operations to design, build, and validate integrated systems.

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.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

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

Materials

Manufacturing processes

CAD proficiency

FEA tools

Flight hardware

Education

Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

NX/CAD suite

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 through flight.

Depending on priorities, your focus may be separation systems, landing gear, aero control surfaces, or electromechanical actuation. This is a hands-on role at the center of vehicle hardware development with close collaboration across propulsion, structures, avionics, GNC, and launch operations to design, build, and validate integrated systems.