Senior Space Mechanisms Engineer - Deployables & HDRMs

Cowboy Space Corp.; Kent (WA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Medical/Dental/Vision insurance

401(k) plan

Paid time off

10 holidays per calendar year

Paid parental leave

Relocation assistance

Daily office lunch

Job summary

Cowboy Space Corporation is seeking a Mechanisms Engineer to own a spacecraft mechanism subsystem from concept through flight. Depending on team priorities, assignments may include HDRMs, solar array deployment systems, deployables, or thermal articulation mechanisms.

You will collaborate with structures, thermal, power, avionics, and mission operations to design, build, and validate hardware, move quickly, and take full ownership of mechanism performance in launch and on‑orbit environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience designing mechanisms or mechanical systems for spacecraft, launch vehicles, or high-performance hardware.
• Experience taking hardware from concept through build, integration, and test.
• Strong fundamentals in structural mechanics, kinematics, materials, and manufacturing processes.
• Proficiency with CAD (NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, or Creo) and creating engineering drawings to ASME Y14.5 GD&T standards.
• Proficiency with FEA tools (ANSYS, Nastran, or Abaqus) for mechanism load-path and dynamic problems.

Responsibilities

• Own your mechanism subsystem from concept through design, analysis, test, and flight.
• Drive structural and kinematic design for minimum mass while meeting strength and life requirements.
• Balance performance, manufacturability, cost, and schedule in every design decision.
• Perform analysis — hand calculations, FEA, tolerance stack-ups, deployment dynamics — and validate predictions with test and on-orbit data.
• Define and execute qualification and acceptance test campaigns, including vibration, thermal vacuum, deployment, and life testing; author procedures and acceptance criteria.
• Develop and maintain engineering drawings, models, and release documentation.
• Work directly on the factory floor with manufacturing and integration & test teams to iterate quickly and resolve build issues.
• Troubleshoot hardware anomalies, perform root cause analysis, and implement design improvements.
• Support spacecraft integration & test, launch site operations, and on-orbit commissioning/anomaly response.

Skills

Mechanisms design

Spacecraft hardware

Structural mechanics

Kinematics

Test & integration

Engineering drawing

ASME Y14.5 GD&T

Familiar with product design process

US work eligibility

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

CATIA

Creo

ANSYS

Nastran

Abaqus

Job description

Cowboy Space Corporation is seeking a Mechanisms Engineer to own a spacecraft mechanism subsystem from concept through flight. Depending on team priorities, assignments may include HDRMs, solar array deployment systems, deployables, or thermal articulation mechanisms.

You will collaborate with structures, thermal, power, avionics, and mission operations to design, build, and validate hardware, move quickly, and take full ownership of mechanism performance in launch and on‑orbit environments.