Senior Propulsion Engineer, Module Design & Integration

Apex Space, Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity opportunities

Healthcare coverage

Paid time off

401(k) matching

Parental leave

Daily catered lunch

Job summary

Apex Technology, Inc. is seeking a Senior Propulsion Engineer in Los Angeles to own the mechanical design of propulsion modules for serial production. You will work with in-house thrusters, flow controllers, and PPUs, ensuring interfaces, mass, and costs are optimized across design cycles.

You will collaborate with manufacturing teams, validate structures under launch loads, and mentor engineers while driving design-for-manufacturing improvements and scalable assembly.

Qualifications

• Degree in mechanical, aerospace, or related field.
• 6+ years of mechanical/aerospace experience with design and hardware integration.
• Strong structural design, load paths, fasteners, tolerance stack-ups, and FEA.
• Experience surviving launch/space environments with verification against requirements.
• Experience installing propulsion hardware into structural assemblies and ICD conformance.
• Proficiency with CAD, GD&T, and owning hardware from concept to release, build, and test.

Responsibilities

• Own the mechanical design of propulsion modules, including structures and mounting.
• Define interfaces between propulsion components and the module and spacecraft.
• Collaborate with in-house thruster, cathode, flow controller, and PPU teams.
• Perform structural analysis, hand calculations, and FEA for strength and margins.
• Design for manufacturability and assembly, ensuring buildability at rate.
• Support build, integration, test, and anomaly/root-cause investigations.

Skills

Structural design

Hardware integration

CAD

FEA

GD&T

Thermal analysis

Manufacturing collaboration

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical/aerospace engineering

Master's degree preferred

Tools

CAD software

Finite element analysis (FEA) tools

Job description

Apex Technology, Inc. is seeking a Senior Propulsion Engineer in Los Angeles to own the mechanical design of propulsion modules for serial production. You will work with in-house thrusters, flow controllers, and PPUs, ensuring interfaces, mass, and costs are optimized across design cycles.

You will collaborate with manufacturing teams, validate structures under launch loads, and mentor engineers while driving design-for-manufacturing improvements and scalable assembly.