Senior Mechatronics Engineer — Spacecraft Systems Leader

Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Pasadena (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, located in Pasadena, CA, seeks a Mechatronics Engineer III to lead mechanisms, actuators, sensors, and electronics for flight hardware. You will guide design, analysis, integration, and test across mission phases, ensuring traceable requirements and on-time delivery.

You will mentor engineers, coordinate across organizations, and contribute to proposals and concept studies while staying current with mechatronics, robotics, and related engineering disciplines.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering or related field; 6+ years experience, or MS 4+, or PhD 2+ years.
• Experience as technical lead for subsystem development, integration, and verification.
• Experience coordinating across engineering disciplines and organizations.
• Experience leading spacecraft/mechatronics hardware development and I&T efforts.
• Ability to translate requirements into electro-mechanical hardware architectures and plans.
• Experience deriving and verifying system and interface requirements.
• Experience leading verification, validation, and test planning.
• Strong communication and leadership across teams.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead mechanisms, materials, and electronics for current and future missions.
• Lead mechanical hardware development across all mission phases from concept to flight operations.
• Derive and manage complex system requirements with traceability.
• Perform design and analysis, generate engineering documentation, and deliver hardware.
• Research architectures and risk mitigation for mechatronic systems.
• Ensure products meet technical requirements and program commitments.
• Develop cost, schedule, and technical plans for engineering tasks.
• Lead V&V planning and execution for complex assemblies.

Skills

Technical lead

Mechatronics

Space hardware

Requirements analysis

V&V planning

Cross-functional

Test planning

Project coordination

Education

Bachelors in Mechanical Eng

Tools

NX/Siemens NX

SolidWorks

Teamcenter

Job description

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, located in Pasadena, CA, seeks a Mechatronics Engineer III to lead mechanisms, actuators, sensors, and electronics for flight hardware. You will guide design, analysis, integration, and test across mission phases, ensuring traceable requirements and on-time delivery.

You will mentor engineers, coordinate across organizations, and contribute to proposals and concept studies while staying current with mechatronics, robotics, and related engineering disciplines.