Senior Spacecraft Propulsion Engineer II

Rocket Lab Corporation; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 132,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Stock Purchase Program

Medical plans

Dental and vision coverage

401(k) with company match

Paid vacation and holidays

EV charging subsidy

Onsite fitness centers

Snacks and beverages

Job summary

Rocket Lab Corporation in Long Beach, CA seeks a Senior Spacecraft Propulsion Systems Engineer II to own propulsion system development for civil, commercial and defense missions, leading end‑to‑end design, modelling and testing within a fast-moving space systems team.

BS in engineering and 8+ years in propulsion; strong modelling with Amesim/EcosimPro/Simulink; experience with NX, Jama, and Teamcenter; US citizenship required for ITAR; competitive compensation and rich benefits package.

Qualifications

• BS in engineering; 8+ years propulsion system development experience.
• US citizenship required for ITAR compliance.
• Experience with propulsion modelling, static/transient analyses, and model validation using data.
• Experience with end-to-end development: requirements, design, qualification, production, testing.
• Knowledge of Systems Engineering V and risk-based decision making.
• Experience with storable propellants; flight hardware testing.

Responsibilities

• Own propulsion system development end‑to‑end for new or existing products.
• Lead modelling, performance calculations, and system designs.
• Gather and manage requirements across stakeholders.
• Provide systems engineering leadership within the team.
• Plan tests, instrumentation, data analysis, and risk-based decisions.
• Mentor team members and maintain engineering documentation.
• Contribute to Rocket Lab engineering processes and standards.

Skills

Propulsion system modelling

Static and transient analysis

Model validation with test data

Requirements gathering & management

Systems engineering leadership

Risk-based decision making

Project management

Mentorship

Documentation quality

Python data manipulation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Master’s or PhD (nice-to-have)

Tools

Amesim

EcosimPro

Simulink

Simscape

Jama

NX

Teamcenter

Windchill

National Instruments data acquisition

Job description

Rocket Lab Corporation in Long Beach, CA seeks a Senior Spacecraft Propulsion Systems Engineer II to own propulsion system development for civil, commercial and defense missions, leading end‑to‑end design, modelling and testing within a fast-moving space systems team.

BS in engineering and 8+ years in propulsion; strong modelling with Amesim/EcosimPro/Simulink; experience with NX, Jama, and Teamcenter; US citizenship required for ITAR; competitive compensation and rich benefits package.