Senior Propulsion Engineer — Lead High-Performance Aerospace

Approach Venture; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Approach Venture in El Segundo, CA, is seeking a Propulsion Engineer to lead development of advanced propulsion hardware for next-generation defense platforms. This hands-on role covers propulsion architecture, high‑pressure hardware, combustion analysis, testing, and integration with a multidisciplinary team.

You will own the development lifecycle from concept through qualification, collaborating with founders and engineers, designing solid rocket motors, gas generators, and other compact

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Demonstrated experience designing propulsion, combustion, or high‑pressure fluid systems.
• Hands‑on experience developing propulsion hardware from concept through testing.
• Experience with solid rocket motors, propulsion test stands, ignition systems, pressure vessels, or related aerospace hardware.
• Strong understanding of combustion, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, structural mechanics, and internal flow behavior.
• Experience designing propulsion systems for aerospace, missile, launch vehicle, or other high‑performance platforms.
• Ability to work hands‑on through design, fabrication, testing, troubleshooting, and iteration.
• U.S. Person or Lawful Permanent Resident status required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and testing of advanced propulsion systems for high-performance aerospace applications.
• Design propulsion architectures including solid rocket motors, gas generators, cold gas systems, and other compact impulse devices.
• Perform combustion, internal ballistics, mass flow, chamber pressure, and thermal analyses to optimize system performance.
• Develop propellant grain geometries and thrust profiles to meet mission‑specific performance requirements.
• Evaluate propulsion trade studies across solid, liquid, hybrid, and alternative architectures.
• Design high‑pressure hardware including motor cases, pressure vessels, regulators, valves, burst disks, and related mechanical components.
• Analyze structural performance under high‑pressure and high‑acceleration loading conditions.
• Develop propulsion test articles, fixtures, instrumentation, and data acquisition systems.
• Plan and execute static fire tests, pressure testing, thermal testing, and system qualification campaigns.
• Analyze test data and rapidly iterate designs through hardware development cycles.
• Model propulsion performance using analytical and numerical simulation tools including CFD, FEA, combustion, and thermal analysis.
• Collaborate closely with mechanical, electrical, and controls engineers to integrate propulsion hardware into complete systems.
• Support ignition system development, actuator integration, safety systems, and propulsion sequencing.
• Maintain safe operating procedures when working with energetic materials and high‑pressure systems.

Skills

Propulsion design

Combustion analysis

High-pressure systems

Hands-on hardware development

System integration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related field

Tools

NASA CEA

CFD

FEA

MATLAB

Python

ANSYS

OpenFOAM

COMSOL

Job description

Approach Venture in El Segundo, CA, is seeking a Propulsion Engineer to lead development of advanced propulsion hardware for next-generation defense platforms. This hands-on role covers propulsion architecture, high‑pressure hardware, combustion analysis, testing, and integration with a multidisciplinary team.

You will own the development lifecycle from concept through qualification, collaborating with founders and engineers, designing solid rocket motors, gas generators, and other compact