Senior Spacecraft Structural Analysis Engineer – TS/SCI

Rocket Lab; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 132,000 - 198,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

top tier medical HMO

PPO

company-sponsored medical HSA plan

dental and vision coverage

3 weeks paid vacation

11 paid holidays per year

401(k) retirement plan with company 
<

discounted employee stock purchase

onsite gym

Job summary

Rocket Lab, based in Long Beach, CA, seeks a Senior Spacecraft Structural Analysis Engineer II with TS/SCI clearance to contribute to Space Systems and Space Components analysis, validation, and testing. Define loads, perform simulations, and guide design decisions for payloads and spacecraft hardware.

You will work with the Vehicle Design Director and Space Systems group to deliver high‑fidelity analyses, support flight and ground testing, and ensure structural margins across programs,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or other engineering discipline.
• Active TS/SCI clearance is required.
• U.S. citizenship is required due to program requirements.
• 8+ years of engineering experience in the aerospace industry.
• Experience using NX Nastran, NX CAD, and Teamcenter packages.
• Experience in spacecraft-level structural test campaign design, execution, data processing, and validation.

Responsibilities

• Define, process, and interpret static and dynamic ground test & flight data, including sensor selection, data acquisition and validation, and environmental determination (random vibration, shock, quasi-static, acoustic, pressure, and thermal).
• Perform, validate, and document structural analyses of primary and secondary vehicle structures, including finite element model verification and validation, material selection, and mass optimization.
• Perform structural and dynamic simulations, including static, modal, random vibration, buckling, and thermoelastic.
• Work closely with design and test engineers to iterate through design concepts, determine test requirements, and demonstrate positive structural margins.
• Define test requirements and directly support testing of vehicle subsystems and components.
• Lead technical projects and programs, as required, both within analysis and across disciplines and teams.
• Help implement new theory and tools within the team and establish best practices in areas of technical expertise.

Skills

NX Nastran

NX CAD

Teamcenter

Structural analysis

Ground test campaigns

TS/SCI clearance

U.S. citizenship

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering

Master's or PhD in mechanical engineering (nice to have)

Tools

NX Nastran

NX CAD

Teamcenter

Job description

Rocket Lab, based in Long Beach, CA, seeks a Senior Spacecraft Structural Analysis Engineer II with TS/SCI clearance to contribute to Space Systems and Space Components analysis, validation, and testing. Define loads, perform simulations, and guide design decisions for payloads and spacecraft hardware.

You will work with the Vehicle Design Director and Space Systems group to deliver high‑fidelity analyses, support flight and ground testing, and ensure structural margins across programs,