Senior Rocket Motor Case Structures & Composites Engineer

Castelion; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Castelion is seeking a Senior Structures & Composites Engineer to design and deliver high-performance rocket motor cases for long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. This role focuses on lightweight, high-strength propulsion structures able to withstand extreme pressure and thermal environments.

You will work with multidisciplinary teams to design, analyze, build, and validate composite and metallic motor case structures, mentoring engineers and advancing best practices in composite and pressure

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering or related field
• 5+ years of experience in structural and composite design for aerospace or high-performance pressure vessels
• Experience with COPVs or rocket motor cases and high-pressure applications
• Proficiency in structural analysis tools such as ANSYS, Abaqus, or NASTRAN

Responsibilities

• Design and develop rocket motor case structures, including COPVs and filament-wound cases
• Lead architecture and detailed design of motor cases, including load paths and attachment features
• Perform structural analysis of pressure vessels under internal pressure and thermal loads
• Develop and optimize composite layups, fiber orientations, and manufacturing approaches
• Collaborate with propulsion, materials, manufacturing, and test teams for seamless integration
• Support material selection and characterization for composites and high-temperature materials
• Conduct failure analysis and drive design improvements and risk reduction
• Define and execute qualification and environmental test plans
• Support prototyping, fabrication, and hardware bring-up
• Mentor junior engineers and share best practices

Skills

Structural design

Composite materials

Finite element analysis

Problem solving

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD in Aerospace or related field

Tools

ANSYS

Abaqus

NASTRAN

Filament winding

NDI/NDT

Job description

Castelion is seeking a Senior Structures & Composites Engineer to design and deliver high-performance rocket motor cases for long-range hypersonic strike vehicles. This role focuses on lightweight, high-strength propulsion structures able to withstand extreme pressure and thermal environments.

You will work with multidisciplinary teams to design, analyze, build, and validate composite and metallic motor case structures, mentoring engineers and advancing best practices in composite and pressure