Senior Powerpack Engineer

Cowboy Space Corp.; United States; On-site; USD 165,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance

401(k) plan

Paid time off

10 holidays

Parental leave

Relocation assistance

Lunch provided

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corp. in the United States is seeking a Senior Powerpack Engineer to own turbopump hardware from concept to flight, defining interfaces, conducting analyses, and guiding builds. The role expects leadership across the team and hands-on involvement with flight hardware.

You will collaborate with machining, test teams, and other engineering disciplines to meet engine cycle requirements, push performance, and mentor junior engineers in a fast-paced startup atmosphere.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or related engineering field.
• Strong grounding in turbomachinery fundamentals, rotordynamics, and life analysis.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD with GD&T and manufacturable design definitions.
• Experience with structural and thermal analysis (FEA and hand calcs).
• Experience selecting materials and manufacturing processes for high-stress, high-cycle hardware.
• Hands-on experience taking hardware from design through build and test.

Responsibilities

• Own turbopump hardware design from concept through hot fire and flight.
• Lead architecture trades on pump and turbine including shaft speed and stage count.
• Integrate hydro, aero, structures, rotordynamics, thermal, and bearing constraints into a single design.
• Perform analysis: hand calculations, FEA, rotordynamic models, life prediction.
• Drive fabrication and build: vendor engagement, first article review, nonconformance disposition.
• Define and execute component/test campaigns and instrumentation.
• Lead root cause investigations and carry corrective action into design and build.
• Collaborate with machinists to improve producibility and iteration speed.
• Review work of junior engineers and raise design standards.

Skills

Turbomachinery fundamentals

Rotordynamics

FEA / structural analysis

GD&T and 3D CAD

Hardware development lifecycle

Materials selection

Manufacturing processes for high-stess

Thermal analysis

Hands-on build/test experience

Education

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

Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Aerospace, Mechanical, or related engineering field

Tools

3D CAD software

Job description

Senior Powerpack Engineer | Job Description

Cowboy Space Corp. is building the infrastructure to power and connect the orbital economy. Our satellites operate in Low Earth Orbit to collect sunlight and enable a new class of capabilities—from powering on-orbit compute, to transmitting energy via infrared lasers (space-to-earth and space-to-space), powering on-orbit compute to delivering secure, high-bandwidth optical data. By rethinking how energy and data are generated and distributed in space, we’re unlocking entirely new ways to operate both in orbit and on Earth.

Founded in 2024 by Baiju Bhatt (co-founder of Robinhood), Cowboy Space Corp. is backed by leading investors and built by a team from top aerospace and defense organizations. We’re moving quickly to solve complex technical challenges and build a new category of space infrastructure.

About the Role

The turbopump is the heart of the engine and sets its performance ceiling. In this role you own turbopump hardware outright: its design definition, its interfaces, the analysis that backs it, and how it performs in build and on the stand. You will work the full lifecycle, from architecture trades and detailed design through fabrication, hot fire, and flight, and you will own the case that the hardware meets its requirements. Senior engineers here also set the technical bar for the people around them, reviewing design work and bringing along the Level I and Level II engineers on the team. This is where you put your name on flight hardware.

Responsibilities

• Bring a culture of creativity to every design challenge. Own each solution or improvement with true accountability, seeing it through to completion.
• Own the mechanical design and development of turbopump hardware from concept through hot fire testing and flight: inducers, impellers, diffusers, volutes, turbine stages, dynamic seals, bearing supports, pump housings and assemblies.
• Lead architecture trades on the pump and turbine, including shaft speed, stage count, specific speed, bearing and seal arrangement, and how each of those choices lands against the engine cycle.
• Integrate hydro, aero, structures, rotordynamics, secondary flow, thermal, and bearing constraints into a single design definition the rest of the team can build to.
• Perform and direct analysis: hand calculations, FEA, rotordynamic models, secondary flow and axial thrust balance, and life prediction for high-stress, high-cycle hardware.
• Own the verification argument for your hardware. Decide what closes by analysis and what has to close on the stand, write the plan, and see both through.
• Select materials and manufacturing processes for cryogenic, high-speed, high-stress service, including castings, forgings, and additive parts.
• Generate detailed component and assembly drawings, design definitions, process specifications, and interface control documents.
• Drive hardware through fabrication and build: vendor engagement, first article review, and nonconformance disposition.
• Define and execute component and engine test campaigns. Author instrumentation requests, support test days in real time, reduce the data, and compare it against prediction.
• Lead root cause investigations on turbopump anomalies and carry the corrective action into both the design and the build paper.
• Control configuration and pedigree across build, test, and refurbishment, including the inspection criteria that gate hardware for reuse.
• Work directly with machinists and technicians on the floor to improve producibility and keep iteration fast.
• Review the design work of Level I, Level II, and Level III engineers and raise the standard of the team’s design definitions.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, or related engineering field.
• Strong grounding in turbomachinery fundamentals: hydrodynamic and aerodynamic performance, rotordynamics, secondary flow, and structural life.
• Proficiency in 3D CAD and in producing released, manufacturable design definitions with sound geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T), and tolerance stack-ups.
• Experience with structural and thermal analysis, both FEA and hand calculations, validated against test data.
• Experience selecting materials and manufacturing processes for high-stress, high-cycle applications.
• Hands-on experience taking hardware from design through build and test.
• 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.

Preferred Qualifications

• 8+ years of turbomachinery or turbopump experience.
• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Aerospace, Mechanical, or related engineering field.
• Experience with liquid rocket engine turbopumps or reusable propulsion systems.
• Experience taking a turbopump from a clean sheet through first hot fire.
• Experience mentoring early career engineers and reviewing their design releases.
• Experience with adjacent rotating machinery. Gas turbines, industrial pumps, compressors, and turbochargers all build fundamentals that carry over to turbopump design.
• Experience with detailed design and analysis of fluid components (inducers, impellers, diffusers, volutes, turbines, and secondary flow), dynamic seals, and rotor support structures.
• Experience with rotordynamics, bearing selection, and axial thrust balance on high-speed rotors.
• Experience with cryogenic hardware design and cryogenic material behavior.
• Experience leading root cause investigations on hardware you owned and carrying the corrective action through to closure.
• Experience with additive manufacturing, castings, and forgings for rotating hardware.
• Experience at a fast-moving, hardware-focused startup or early-stage program.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $165,000 - $210,000 annually. The actual base salary offered will depend on factors such as job-related skills, experience, qualifications, and internal equity.

• Equity in Cowboy Space Corp.
• Employees and their eligible dependents may enroll in 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 and a fully stocked kitchen with beverages and snacks

ITAR Requirements

• Export Control Requirement: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), applicants must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. Learn more about ITAR here.

Disclaimer

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at Cowboy Space Corp.’s discretion.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Cowboy Space Corp. is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. Cowboy Space Corp. is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions relating to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.