Senior Mechanisms Systems Engineer

Relativity Space; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 132,000 - 181,500; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous PTO

Sick leave policy

Parental leave

Annual learning stipend

Job summary

Relativity Space is seeking a Senior Mechanisms Systems Engineer to lead the design and integration of complex mechanism systems, such as thrust vector control. You will collaborate across teams to define operations, verification plans, and ensure system performance.

The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's in a relevant field, 5+ years experience, and proven project leadership skills. Competitive compensation ranges from $132,000 to $181,500, alongside generous benefits including PTO and parental leave.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of relevant experience in design, manufacturing, assembly, or test of complex mechanical systems.
• Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary projects and deliver on ambitious schedules.
• Strong technical judgment and communication skills across engineering and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Define system concepts of operations (CONOPS), requirements, and verification plans.
• Lead integrated product activities across mechanical design and software teams.
• Drive development tests, functional verification, and flight readiness.

Skills

Mechanical design

Systems integration

Requirements verification

Technical communication

Project leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering field

Tools

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity.

About The Team

The Mechanisms Team at Relativity Space designs and delivers the complex, high‑performance mechanical systems that enable launch‑vehicle flight, landing, and reusability. We own the full lifecycle of mission‑critical hardware—actuators, latches, and thrust vector control (TVC) systems—while partnering deeply with Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC), Avionics, and Software to create integrated, operable solutions. Our work spans concept development through design, analysis, test, flight operations, and recovery, always balancing performance, reliability, and build rate.

About The Role

As a Senior Mechanisms Systems Engineer, you will be the technical and programmatic owner for large, cross‑discipline mechanism systems such as thrust vector control. Reporting directly to the Mechanisms team, you will lead system‑level design and integration, guiding requirements, architecture, and verification across hardware and software interfaces.

You Will

• Define system concepts of operations (CONOPS), requirements, and verification plans.
• Lead integrated product activities across mechanical design, actuators, GNC, avionics, and software teams to ensure seamless system performance.
• Drive development tests, functional verification, and flight readiness by authoring test plans, executing tests, and establishing success criteria.
• Anticipate technical and logistical risks, develop mitigation strategies, and align priorities across engineering disciplines and schedules.
• Coordinate the design, manufacturing, integration, and test schedules for complex mechanism systems.
• Take hands‑on ownership of emergent challenges—whether designing test fixtures, specifying sensors, writing test automation, or leading root‑cause investigations.

This role occasionally requires travel to test and launch sites and may involve shifted or weekend schedules to support critical milestones.

About You

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering field and 5+ years of relevant experience in design, manufacturing, assembly, or test of complex mechanical or electromechanical systems.
• Proven ability to lead multi‑disciplinary projects and deliver on ambitious schedules.
• Strong technical judgment and the ability to communicate complex concepts across engineering and leadership audiences.
• Demonstrated experience balancing requirements, cost, and schedule while driving system integration and verification.

Nice To Haves But Not Required

• Background in actuator systems, flight mechanisms, or thrust vector control.
• Experience with motor‑control tuning and model‑based design using MATLAB/Simulink.
• Experience with integrated hardware/software testing and verification.
• Familiarity with reusability and rapid‑iteration development environments.

Compensation

Hiring Range: $132,000—$181,500 USD. Compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job‑related factors. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at [e-mail].