Senior Spacecraft Mechanisms Engineer: Space Power Grid

Star Catcher; Jacksonville (FL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) retirement plan

Life insurance

Paid parental leave

Job summary

Star Catcher is seeking a Senior Spacecraft Mechanisms Engineer in Jacksonville, FL to lead mechanism architecture and deployment analysis for the Star Catcher Network. You will own torque and force margins, select vacuum-compatible bearings and actuators, and drive life-testing campaigns.

You’ll mentor technicians and produce design reviews, test reports, and proposals to win new programs. Strong collaboration across mechanical, structures, avionics, and manufacturing teams is essential, as is

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical or aerospace engineering with 10+ years' spacecraft mechanism design experience.
• Proven leadership of space systems development from concept to flight.
• Experience sizing precision actuators, drivetrains, and encoders.
• Experience with vacuum-compatible bearings and lubricants for flight.
• Proficiency with CAD models and GD&T in Autodesk Inventor or equivalent.
• Torque and margin analysis per NASA-STD-5017.

Responsibilities

• Own the spacecraft mechanism architecture, including hinges, booms, dampers, latches, and synchronization hardware.
• Define requirements for hold-down and release mechanisms, including release device selection, preload sizing, and separation shock allocation.
• Lead the design of pointing gimbals, and set their actuation, range, accuracy, and resolution requirements.
• Establish torque and force margin practices across worst-case friction, thermal, and end-of-life conditions, and approve margins for flight.
• Direct deployment kinematics and multibody dynamics analysis to verify sequencing, rates, latch-up, and induced loads on the spacecraft.
• Define material, bearing, and lubricant selection for vacuum compatibility, and set handling, cleanliness, and outgassing controls.
• Own mechanism development, qualification, and life test campaigns in ambient and thermal vacuum conditions.
• Support fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) analysis and implementation of mechanism components.
• Support the systems engineering team in writing detailed requirements for mechanism functionality and the methods for verification.
• Serve as the technical focal point for mechanisms across mechanical design, structures, opto-mechanical, avionics, and manufacturing.
• Create technical documentation for proposals, design reviews, and test reports which demonstrate rigor and expertise for the goal of executing on program deliverables and winning of new programs.
• Mentor engineers and technicians, and establish standards for mechanism design, analysis processes, documentation, and review practices for the discipline.

Tools

Autodesk Inventor

GD&T

Job description

Star Catcher is seeking a Senior Spacecraft Mechanisms Engineer in Jacksonville, FL to lead mechanism architecture and deployment analysis for the Star Catcher Network. You will own torque and force margins, select vacuum-compatible bearings and actuators, and drive life-testing campaigns.

You’ll mentor technicians and produce design reviews, test reports, and proposals to win new programs. Strong collaboration across mechanical, structures, avionics, and manufacturing teams is essential, as is